What do you see as the primary characteristic of a community?
What greater purpose does it serve?

This weekend our little beach community put on the 28th edition of Dancin’ in the Streets. A day of fun music (2 stages), food, beverage, kids’ activities, and crafts.  My wife and I volunteer for a few hours and then wander the street listening to music, visiting with friends, and enjoying the food and sights.

The event reminds us of the wonderful community we live in and enjoy each day.  And it reminded me of the importance of “community” in all of our lives.

In its most general form, a community is any group of folks that shares something in common. Often it is associated with a geographical location. With the Internet, however, many of our communities have become virtually boundary-less and limitless.  For instance, there are the communities found in and around:

• Neighborhoods
• Churches
• Coffee houses
• Classrooms
• Schools
• Teacher lounges
• Professional organizations
• Sports teams
  
• Families
• Volunteer organizations
• Political organizations
• Activist organizations
• Professional associations and conferences
• Occupations
• Callings
• Yoga classes
• Gym weight rooms
• Reading clubs
• Morning jogging groups
• Car pools
• Daycare centers
• Substance abuse counseling groups
• Animal rights proponents
• Civil rights activists

And I’m sure you can add to the list.

For me, communities have the potential for great positive power.  The powers of support, encouragement, love, and growth come to mind.  Think of the last natural disaster you heard about—and then remember the news stories of all the people who came together, digging through the rubble to begin the process of rebuilding and healing a community.

Video recommendation for the week:

What communities would you add to the above list? And what do you see as the primary characteristic of a community? What greater purpose does it serve?

Make it a wonderful week—H.T.R.B. as needed.

Check out my website (http://www.stevepiscitelli.com/programs.html) for programming information as well as details about upcoming webinars  (http://www.stevepiscitelli.com/webinars).

Information on my newest book, Choices for College Success (3rd ed.), can be found at Pearson Education.

 (c) 2014. Steve Piscitelli. All rights reserved.