Community
Community. What does that mean to you?
Most might associate the word with their neighborhood – where they live. My wife and I are fortunate to live in a nice community in Alexandria, VA called Delray. We chose to live here because of the way it makes us feel. We live just a few miles from the hustle and bustle of Washington, DC – horns, sirens, people with heads down glued to their smartphones with absolutely no time for idle banter. Delray however provides an (old person alert) “Mayberry” feel – where people take the time to say hello, stop to let you pet their dog and actually stop when they see you at a cross walk and wave to you as you pass by. If you live in NOVA or even visited you understand. For those that haven’t – imagine walking through the woods and actually seeing a Unicorn. Its that rare.
While community often does refer to where we reside, it also relates to where we work.
We spend more time awake at work than we do at home – so that community is vitally important as well. Often; we think that community or environment is created by the employer – but is it? Don’t we have the responsibility to create the community or environment we want to work in?
At home, we might participate in the community garden, church group or volunteer for a neighborhood project. Why do we do this? Because we want to be involved in the community and have a part in developing it.
At work, we can do the same thing. Be involved. Volunteer for a committee. Make you voice heard and contribute.