Let me begin by saying this: I live in a town that is all about community. When we moved here from Texas my parents had a pleasant surprise at how much of a community Incline Village is, since to the outside world it looks like an eclectic handful of rich people and second homeowners (...it's not). When I moved back from college in 2007, I rediscovered the power of my community and every year since I have gotten a stronger and stronger sense of how it sticks together and cares for its own.
This year of course, I have been a part of my community. I joined a local networking group that gets me inspired and charged up every Thursday morning. I've donated countless items for auctions that raise money for good causes, given so much of my time (and my mad dance skills) to non-profits like Tahoe Women's Services and Incline's schools, shown my support at my alma mater's sporting events and the like.
This is why, although I love the word and the concept, I have a hard time wrapping my brain around what communities I've discovered this year. To me community was never a question.
I suppose if you break it down of course I'm always making new friends, meeting fellow entrepreneurs, expanding my community of clients and acquaintances, logging onto Twitter and Facebook to be heard in the echoing and ever-expanding community of businesses and people.
But none of them will ever measure up to what I already have, and have had for about 16 years now. I live in a town where your neighbors won't just lend you a cup of sugar; they'll let you take over their kitchen if you need it. Nothing is as real as Maggie bringing me a quiche for dinner the day after my septoplasty this September, or how during dark times the people who really need each other somehow find each other. (Karen and I spent much of November chipping away at an infuriatingly complex 3,000-piece puzzle, her recently-operated-upon foot perched on a pillow, while we waited for good news after her husband and my dad had been laid off Oct. 1.)
Don't get me wrong; I adore Facebook and Twitter as powerful marketing tools and really fun, informative ways to connect with people who aren't in your vicinity, and I love my amazing networking group. I even love the book club that I just joined on a whim. But they're all pieces of the bigger (3,000-piece?) picture.
In 2011, the community I'll be connecting with most strongly will continue to be the one where I grew up. My family instilled in me the idea that we collaborate with the community, serve the community, are part of the community.
So as far as community goes, I've never really given it a second thought and I probably never will. It's more like second nature.
