The free verse of the planet burns most brightly through the communities of the world today. The brightest light is emanated from those communities centered in the conscious awareness and purpose of growth in the spiritual life. Nonetheless, any structure of community is by it’s nature empowered to shed a greater light on the planet. Whether it be a rugby team, a church group, a group of people at a Dave Mathews concert, an AA home group, a tight knit group of friends or a group of parents who gather three mornings a week at the ice rink to take their kids to hockey, community is formed and empowers the individuals to greater life. There is something so wonderful about being recognized and loved for who you are. One of the things that I love the most about having grown up in a small town like Aspen is that it is a fish bowl. One of our local newspapers has a slogan that says “if you don’t want it printed, don’t let it happen.” I have come to love this over the years because they are right on about this community. The size and nature of Aspen is such that transparency is a quality embodied by the individuals and the town as a whole whether you like it or not. Sure, I have run to cities where I felt more anonymity in my life and quite frankly, loved the gift of anonymity. However, I missed the love and familiarity of being in a small community. We have characters in our community that perhaps when you first met them you might have felt judgment and a resulting fear. The instinct may be to talk for it is a form of vomiting the fear that you feel when someone is so different from you. But over time you learn that they have a place in the community and somehow the fear fades to a realization and acceptance that they are safe, quirks and all. It is a true test of our own evolution to notice the depth and breadth of our love for others in our life. It is easy to love those you feel fond of who serve you in some way. The greatest measure of love is to find the person or situation that is the most “challenging” in your community and dedicate yourself to loving them to the best of your ability. If it is a challenge for you to do so, then take notice of an elder or a mature person in your community and notice how they rarely, if ever, engage in negative talk about an individual. Notice how they are identified only with Good and therefore do not subscribe to any particular “circle” of friends. Notice how the gossip never even reaches their ear for they are so centered in God that the mamby pamby of low-level thinking, escapes them completely. Be in the fishbowl of community today and extend your perception past your judgements of self and others and dive deep into the true nature of you and your community which is always, LOVE.
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