22-152 Community

Today’s Mandala
Community

“The best way to find yourself
is to lose yourself
in the service of others.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

“The world is so empty
if one thinks only of
mountains, rivers & cities;
but to know someone who thinks
& feels with us, & who, though distant,
is close to us in spirit,
this makes the earth for us
an inhabited garden.”

— Goethe

“We cannot seek achievement
for ourselves and forget about
progress and prosperity
for our community…
Our ambitions must be broad enough
to include the aspirations
and needs of others,
for their sakes and for our own.”

— Cesar Chavez

Today’s MotD looks at the idea of community and how it relates to the individual, the individual within the community, and the role of community to itself. Merriam-Webster defines community as “a unified body of individuals”. That unity can be based on guidelines that are anywhere from very strict to very loose, and can include a membership of 2 to over 7 billion. And as we see on our current Earth existence there are millions of communities with communities, within communities, within communities.

The challenge for individuals and communities becomes finding a healthy balance of both the individuals’ needs and the community’s needs, along with providing a sense of belonging for the individuals, which includes acceptance, tolerance, and respect.

In looking at the community of Earth, ideally we are meant to grow and thrive as individuals while adding to the overall well-being of the Earth community and its members; and likewise they add to our overall well-being. In the meantime we can certainly strive to attain this ideal.

As we go through life, we will come and go from many communities. The bottom line for all of them is for the community to respect the individual and the individual to respect the community. And of course at the core is the developing of our own self respect. For if we can’t respect ourselves how can we respect others and the community, and how can they in turn respect us.

Blessings,

Maureen
The Mandala Lady

btw…started with this: