When life gets tough, it’s good to keep things simple. Doing your best to keep things going is the rule of the day. Everyone struggles and that is when being there for others is a good thing to do. Of course, be kind to others and hope they will return the favor.
Love one another hopefully isn’t too cliche to be solid advice. I would also venture to boldly go together.
Grace, peace, and love good people.
I believe in inclusion. Getting people on board and providing opportunities to find family and community is a good thing. It is acceptable to be in a group where everyone is like-minded because sometimes that is best for your mental health and to keep the peace.
Also, I believe that once you find inclusion into your tribe you have a responsibility to get involved. To make a group better, it takes having some skin in the game to grow and prosper the group as a whole.
As a blogger, I hope you all feel included and involved in some way. We all have responsibilities to exercise that. Our community is diverse and it needs to be nurtured and cared for. People need belonging but they also must be involved. The two things go hand-in-hand.
As a believer, I take my inclusion and my involvement seriously. Loving one another and loving your neighbor are two easy ways I do the work of welcoming and working.
Life provides an opportunity to serve and to be served. We all have responsibilities to help. Then there comes the time for others to help you. It’s my view that we all have to do some heavy lifting at different stages in our lives. Using our talents and giving our time are two things that we can offer to make the world better. Isn’t that something we should all be doing?
I feel like my responsibility as a believer and as a human being is to make space for more people to be welcomed and part of the action of life. No matter the chaos that someone brings it’s important that they have a seat at the table where they can be fed and nourished.
Granted I am not always good at it but I know my heart and mind seek to do those things that can make people feel they are valued. It’s not easy but it requires open minds and hearts to do the work of inclusion. No matter your background you should always feel welcomed.
I have the belief that a bigger tent is better than the narrow way that leads to exclusion. My friends I hope you too will do those things to build your community and have an inner circle that is never complete. Love can build those bridges and so much more. Making room is a good thing, God knows that is true.
The need for rest is important. In scripture, rest is a must. We do much better as human beings when we have it. Unfortunately, some cannot have much rest because they have to be constantly working to make a living or just to fight for their rights. Everyone must be afforded rest no matter their situation. It can be exhausting having to be on the go every day.
The rest I am speaking of comes from being able to just breathe, restore one’s spirit and feel a sense of freedom. Sleep is rest but so is the ability to just slow down and just exist freely. When you are done with your day’s work the greatest thing is to go home, enjoy a meal and do other things.
Resting can mean finding a place to go where you can recharge and renew. Our souls are better when they are refreshed. May we all find that secret sauce that will help us find the rest we need so that our journey will be good. Also, may we help others find rest as they fight the good fight and not add to their struggle.
Rest my friends. Rest.
Being in a community means different things to different people. Whether it be in-person or virtually having connections hopefully can create a bond that can convey respect and love. Barbara Streisand sang “people who need people are the luckiest people in the world” and I tend to agree with that. Of course, boundaries are essential for healthy connections and community.
You create a society in schools, libraries, retail shops, work, museums, sports, houses of worship, and other spaces. Of course, online communities can transcend time and space. Many online communities came about from the Coronavirus pandemic. In any case, it requires being intentional about making communities work and thrive.
I hope I am the best person I can be no matter what community/group I find connections in. Hopefully, building connections can make us all better people.
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