Community "rocks"!

Seems like the "rainy season" may have begun (or is at least making an exploratory "recce") on Vancouver Island but, hey, that's why it's so green here and besides, you can paddle twelve months of the year - so no issues with that! Except that tomorrow morning is our parish Harvest Fair - sunshine would be really nice for that!

I've been asked, by a group in town, to give a little talk on the subject of "community" in a couple of weeks. It was time to give it some serious thought. Been wondering what would be helpful to share. Hmm, so what to do? Well, first of all it was important to get moving. For whatever reason, it's difficult (for me anyway) to think while sitting still. No, it's not the least bit like "chewing gum while walking"! While sedentary, the mind seems to wander, is reluctant to focus, and any sense of creativity seems doomed to a kind of lethargy born out of simply being in a static position! I like what Friedrich Nietzsche, the 19th century German philosopher wrote: "Give no credence to any thought that was not born outdoors, while one moved about freely - in which the muscles are not celebrating a feast, too." Gotta love that! It's just much easier to think on my feet - so long as they are moving. Although, come to think of it, there is one place where it is easy to think while sitting - but that's in the kayak when just about everything else is moving, including the "seat"!

So thinking about "community" led to a walk down to the water, always refreshing, and sure to inspire. Stepping onto the beach from a short set of stairs, it was easy to be struck by the familiar "beach rocks" that only an hour or so ago had been awash under the gently breaking waves of an ebbing tide. For a few intertidal hours, they had traded their marine "habitat" for a terrestrial habitat - conveniently revealing to the observer their special beauty and complexity.

As you will see in the photograph, some comparisons might be made to the nature of human "community". No rock is the same, each is unique in shape, in size, in weight, in colour. (Never thought of it that way - that's something that rocks, snowflakes, and people have in common.) Each has been marked by the environment in some way that gives a hint of the "journey" it has taken over time. Clearly, some will retain their structural integrity longer than others - holding their form and resisting becoming part of the sandy beach on which they appear to lay. Some seem happy to host other living creatures, while others seem to enjoy their "independence". Some began their life as fiery magma (igneous rocks), while others began as particles of sediment, joined together under pressure and over time. Still others, have undergone changes over the eons and tell a compelling story of their "experiences" . Here, all share a common location, although, except for the very largest, all must be open to occasional short distance "re-locations" when "motivated" by the crashing waves of winter storms. In short, this rocky beach speaks of beauty, and of connections and of shared diversity.

Perhaps a place to begin in a talk about community? Just checked the forecast again - looks like possibility of some sunshine tomorrow. Sweet!