Love Thy Neighbor

This afternoon, as I was home alone, there was a know on my back door.  I looked out and there was a somewhat scraggly looking older man standing on my stoop. Don't be alarmed, though!  My roommate Megan and I met him yesterday while he and his wife were picking pears from the pear tree that is in our backyard.  He was simply following through on his word that he'd come back today and bring a ladder for us to use to be able to pick more pears, as well as a jar of blackberry jam his wife made.  My pancakes won't know what hit them tomorrow morning!

His coming back today got me thinking about community, both the existing one I have moved into and will hopefully become part of, as well as the one my AmeriCorps teammates seem to want to create.  When I had the choice of accepting a position in Seattle or the position here one of the biggest factors in choosing PA was that I knew there would be a larger group that I hoped would want to create a sort of community.  For the past few years I have not counted on people to stay true to their word.  Well, that's not true.  The people I have been close to for many years I trust.  However, as I have met new acquaintances I have not ever expected them to act on what they say they might do.  Not sure when this started, but I guess I'd rather be pleasantly surprised by someone than let down.  Except now, in PA, it seems this outlook of mine will be changed.  Maybe it's the type of people that this AmeriCorps team is comprised of.  Maybe it's a different mindset the citizens of the Olympic Peninsula posses.  Either way, this week has been full of reminders that my past does not dictate my future, and while I can incorporate what I have learned I can not use my past experiences as a basis for what this new chapter of life will bring.

"Intentional Community" has been a buzz phrase for me this year.  To me, intentional community is something that everyone involved takes time to build the space they're in into somewhere they feel safe, included, welcomed, and appreciated.  It has occurred to me in the past few days though that a large part of it is also the INTENT that I (and everyone involved) bring to the community.  I have frequently been asking myself what type of world to I want to live in?  So the real question would be, "What are my intentions for my community?" in whatever community I'm in at the moment; my AmeriCorps team, my neighborhood, my global community.

My roommate, Megan, said something the other night that reminded me that people learn best and change their behavior most easily when they are guided by example rather than yelled at and told they are flat out wrong.  My neighbors' generosity and my teammates' welcoming and inclusive attitudes are definitely behaviors I intend to mimic and hopefully integrate into my daily life so that I may be able to participate in building community around myself, as well as being able to become folded into the community here.