Archived from http://doinglikewise.blogspot.com/
I admit going in this is a view from my eyes; I wonder how many live a similar if not duplicate series of seasons. I think the tendency is as the older we get the smaller our world becomes, the reality of this season of communication and community is that we are being challenged to expand our world and views of community. I had a great conversation with my Pastor yesterday. I am one of those fortunate who know Pastors as people, individuals and personalities more complex than my understanding of a “calling” and their ‘profession’ although these I speak of do not, I think, see them selves as professionals only or maybe at all, rather fellow sojourners. Off the subject.
During our conversation we opened the context of the new communities and marketplace of the Internet, much as my friend Martin Malzahn peels the layers off of in his blog http://copernicus-thewideninggyre.blogspot.com/. In fact a book Martin introduced me to was brought into the conversation as another ingredient of opening eyes to the manner in which we neatly package something or someone as important and as intimately affective in our lives as God. Which is just another method of protection to keep us from thinking in terms of expanding our own lens of the world and even our God.
I must say the conversation was stimulating and reflective of the changes and challenges awaiting us to embrace these new opportunities we participate in and then the awareness of the ones we don’t. Some more regularly and some not, but, still the door is open to this change and the only pressure to stay out is that which we have learned over the seasons of life. The reality is this new arena of interaction and community building is so foreign to some of us from distant childhoods that we are, as Martin shares, foreigners in a strange land and may always bare the mark and language of our origins no matter how hard we try.
I will always speak with the accent of my generations life and world view. So I venture out, sensing and seeing the vastness of the new community but with very little in my deepest learning and practice that allows a change of life commitment to my new view. This is all a thousand words to say ‘you are asking me to be public with my personal thoughts and views when I have been taught the whole of my private life to keep them in. And so I check facebook and twitter and what ever else I have had the private courage to expand into my world view but to immerse myself and share through these public outlets of privacy, not an easy transition. But not much is, if you are to embrace the emerging world of relationship and common interest, you must share your interest. Remembering that 90% or more of those out there are not interested, but that the purpose is to connect with the one or two percent, or less, who find a commonality of thought, purpose or interest in those ideas or your life journey no matter how long or winding. Everyone’s agreement is not required for your community to have a new and greater value because of the new process to gather it. So my ‘old’ friends, look through the new glass and be who you are and not the you that your parents or culture or historical traditions have taught you. Rather the you with the expressive mind and wealth of ideas from your experience and a new determination of your own value that a new community may learn from the wealth of that experience.
How much will this internet community lose because we are not comfortable engaging it?