Places

Community … continued

Colorado Boulevard, Eagle Rock
Colorado Boulevard, Eagle Rock

Last Christmas I wrote about the community I found by accident … because of an accident. This season has me thinking a lot about the community we make on purpose.

Our lives are wound up in our communities, whether we ask for it or not. Our communities make us feel welcomed or ostracized, safe or afraid, warm or cold. If we’re lucky, our communities have the resources to provide a supportive and healthy environment for all residents. And if we’re not, that luck can be changed.

Because luck is all of us.

Luck is the woman who asked our neighborhood council to help her plant trees on our main street, and then led the community to plant and take care of them. Luck is the woman from Recycled Resources for the Homeless who found winter shelter for our homeless neighbors. Luck is the fathers and mothers who volunteer at our elementary schools each morning, guiding children safely to their classrooms. Luck is the market owner who creates community for our teenagers, and who called an ambulance for my son the day he came in bruised and battered. Luck is the hardware store that lets us keep an account, so my children can pick up a mop or batteries even when I’m not home.

We make luck when we create community. Luck is when we lend a hand, look out for our children and teenagers and preteens (even when they act stupid), offer help to all our neighbors whether they have homes or not, check on our senior citizens, and make improvements to our environment. Luck is all around us. Or it can be.

Here’s to a new year full of luck and love to create the communities each of us deserves … no matter our race or gender or age or education or economic status. Because people feeling pain spread pain. And people feeling loved share love.

Happy New Year and Renewed Community.