The Value of Community

20th May, 2009 - Posted by Jon -

Last Thursday Lisa and I attended a celebration of our friend Sarah’s short life. It was an amazing experience, partly because we got to know Sarah better, and admire her more, but also because hundreds of our neighbors showed up to share in the experience. Some of us knew Sarah a little bit, others knew her well, and others didn’t really know her at all, but knew she was important to a lot of people, and wanted to learn more about her and support those who were grieving her loss. By the end of the celebration, everyone had been reduced to tears and provoked to laughter so many times that we were all exhausted, and as we filed out, emotionally spent, we were all acutely aware of our blessings–both as individuals and as members of this intimate and supportive community.

I think Brandon is an unusually strong community, in part because of its size (about 4,000 people) and its location (tucked below the Green Mountains of Vermont), but I think that any kind of community–any group of people uniting around whatever they share (a town or neighborhood, ideas, resources, etc.)–has value, and the more community members share with each other, the stronger and more valuable that community will be. Our community was strengthened when we shared our grief and  gratitude last Thursday, and it’s strengthened in less remarkable, but still important, ways when we share ideas at Town Meeting, or smile with a neighbor, or an event at the town hall. The more we share, the stronger we are as a community, and the stronger we are as a community, the more able we are as individuals to survive life’s tragedies and, in less tragic times, to live our lives to the fullest.