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Today's
quotation:
All
of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we're giving
or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring
to this world. That's one of the things that connects us as
neighbors-- in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver.
Fred Rogers
The
World According to Mr. Rogers
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Today's
Meditation:
Somehow over
the last few decades, we seem to be losing the sense of
community that helps to define us as human beings.
It isn't happening everywhere, but it seems to be
happening in many, many places-- and it's a shame. We
used to thrive as members of a community, sharing
friendship, caring, helpfulness, and just our
presence. Now, though, such sharing isn't as common
as it used to be, and we're losing a lot of the goodness
of life because of this loss.
It's
easy to point fingers: it's the cell phones, or it's
the violence, or it's the greed or prejudice or hatred or
politics. But aren't these things symptoms rather
than diseases? Some people almost never take part in
community because they spend their free time in front of
the television-- is that the TV's fault, or is the need to
watch programs a symptom of something else, some sort of
fear, perhaps? Whatever the reason, it's important
for us to keep in mind that the fact that our society
doesn't seem to value community as much as it used to
doesn't mean that we have to follow suit.
It's
important that no matter how difficult it may be, we have
to do our best to value and seek out community and
connection on our own. It's for our good and the
good of others. And on a personal level, if we keep
our focus on others and their needs and do our best to
fulfill needs when we see them, we can contribute not just
to an individual's well-being, but to a sense of
community, of neighbor helping neighbor, friend helping
friend, stranger helping stranger.
It
gets very frustrating living in a world in which community
seems to be weakening day by day, but we can fight the
trend in our own small ways, in our own small world.
One day we'll realize what we've been losing and we'll
seek to regain it; it will be nice to be ahead of the
curve then, already giving to others as a true community
member will do. And then we can help others to do
the same.
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