Community Through My Eyes--The Neighborhoods

  One of the thoughts I went away thinking about during my blog break and makeover was how I could come up with topics specifically designed for creating a series of posts. Instead of bouncing around from week to week or post to post with different topics I want to create a series of posts connected to a common theme. The length of each theme will vary and I am very excited about this new format. I have many interests and have a lot to say about a variety of things. I am sure you have already figured that out. In any case I went away and thought about the different topics I have great love for and some I feel challenged by. I came back with one I love dearly. It is something I am extremely passionate about. It is a word that gets thrown around in different circles (sometimes, ad nauseum) and so many of us are desperately seeking it. The word is community and it means the world to me. For the next few posts I am going to lay out for you my thoughts on community as it relates to family, work, friends and neighborhoods (although not in that order). Who is your community? Better yet, what is your community? Here is my take as it relates to the neighborhood.

  This past weekend I was a part of something fantastic. I saw community in the neighborhoods come together in a way that brought chills to my body. One of the organizations I have been a part of ever since we moved to North Carolina back in 2010 is the Greater Cleveland Athletic Association. It is where my kids play their sports and I coach. Over the weekend we held, "Opening Day Ceremonies" for the baseball program and it was a blast. I saw people from all different neighborhoods in the Cleveland area come together for a common purpose. All of us were sharing in the moment of kicking off the baseball season and it was awesome. It was a spectacular sunny and warm day here in our neck of the woods. There were bouncy slides, music, team mascots, food and a whole bunch of people hanging out together. I'd say there were about seven or eight hundred people in attendance. This was community with a cause. We all shared a common theme and were excited to be there. It was not contrived or manufactured but simply was. That is my kind of community. No artificial flavoring but simply natural. And it left a taste in my mouth for more.

  Each team and coach were announced and lined up on the main ballfield. Through all of the divisions there were about 20 teams. There were about 385 kids in all. That was double the amount of kids playing baseball from a year ago. I lined up at home plate with my team and then two things happened that I did not expect. First, we all paused while someone prayed and thanked God for all we had around us. It moved and spurred me. I had not been a part of a secular organization that had done something like this en masse. It was very cool. Second, we played the national anthem. The playing of the anthem was not surprising because it is common around sporting events. The thing that caught my eye was the two gentleman sitting in the bleachers on the soccer field out past the centerfield wall who turned around and saluted the flag while the anthem played. They showed an allegiance to community as all of us did as we stood there saluting our country's colors. It was a "you had to be there" moment and I was glad I was. It made me proud to be alive and left me wanting to create more of these times. Our neighborhoods were creating community and it was a perfect ten.

   Community in our neighborhoods can be a variety of things. We have done cookouts with a bunch of families around our home. Maybe you have too. It could be a gathering as I described above. Community outside our doors brings people together. It's what we need to see more of. We are all too busy. I know I get caught up sometimes. If we want to bring change to anything it has to start in our neighborhoods. No disrespect to our elected officials but this is where change begins. This is where it all happens. It starts in Your Town and Mine, USA and you and I can and should be a part of it. It is where the single mom who works herself to death to pay her bills gets her lawn mowed or driveway shoveled by her neighbors. It is where we make meals for someone's family when a life change has occurred. It is where we meet and discuss ways to make our world better. It is where we take care of our neighbor whose husband or wife is off defending our country somewhere around the world. It is where groups of men, women and children band together to support, encourage and teach. It is where I believe the greatest changes of our world will happen.

   The single most impactful thing a neighborhood offers is caring for others in a grassroots kind of way. We bog ourselves down too much with structure and "well, this is the way we always do it" kind of thinking. We need to stop trying to manufacture it. No one wants community that way. You can't force it. It kills me to see that. People want real. Your neighbors want community just as much as you do but something holds us back. Break down the walls. Fences don't make great neighbors. I don't think the person who coined the phrase knew the truth. The great thing about community in the neighborhood is you don't really have to plan it. You just live your life and look for opportunities to participate. It's what I try to do. Sure, not all of us have that social bug in us. You don't have to. Live your life and put others above yourself. It is simple but yet so hard. Community in the neighborhood is a powerful tool. It can encourage and bring hope. People are desperate for both. Don't sell yourself short or others around you. Get out there and be great. Remember, it's about the dash!