Blasphemy

Today, someone shared - in a very public forum - a story illustrating the rare community spirit that he sees hallmarks our hometown and religion.  

It may seem blasphemy to many, but the strong community spirit - dropping off hot soup & homemade bread to someone who's sick, folding laundry for a frazzled family - that he sees in Bryn Athyn is just as as evident all around our little town, from Huntingdon Valley & Hatboro to New Hope & New Britain, in dozens of faith communities & hundreds of neighborhoods.

Mind you, it's a vaunted sense of community service & support that I look forward to helping  blossom from perception to glorious reality.  But at this point in time, we are not the altruistic community that so many life to envision. We never were - but we can be!  We can turn things around, encouraging & nurturing a glorious tradition of volunteerism & engagement, instead of being a place where most folks seem to invest their time & energies in things that touch an area of interest, rather than an area of need.  

"But that's human nature," friends have said.  

Yes, it is.  Am talking about appealing to our spiritual nature.  

How many times have I seen folks in my beloved boro be exceptionally supportive - if those in need are somehow on their personal radar.  I've heard their reasoning - "We only have so many unspoken-for hours in a day, so carefully doling them out makes sense on a certain level."  Hey, it's only human! 

Give me a magic wand & a bunch of wishes.  I'd abracadabra a Bryn Athyn that fully personifies the exceptional community spirit, engagement & nurturing volunteerism many envision is already in the here & now. A place where released energies spur unimagined initiatives.  

Making this vision real - a community filled with folks pursuing full-hearted "good neighbor" energies - is my until~my~last~breath purpose.  

Strange but true - since I was a little kid, what I've fully, completely envisioned typically ends up a reality.  Downright spooky.  Well, my full, complete vision for my little hometown is it becoming a genuine hallmark of full-throttle community service & support.  And that we will just BE that way, without noticing it & certainly not pointing it out.  

Pardon me if this seems blasphemous, but patting ourselves on the back smacks of taking pride in being different than others, being better, more atuned & active.  Reality Check:  as someone who's done my best (and failed) to get people involved, am here to tell you that what the world considers volunteerism is not all that pervasive in our little boro.  But it can & will be!  That's not blasphemy - that's a promise!

To be continued....