Foundations Of Community
If you happen to take a short drive North of San Francisco, you’ll run into one of the great natural treasures of our country- The California Redwood Forest. The size of those coniferous trees is legendary and stunning. It’s hard to imagine that one of those trees grew from some little seed. Now you would think that the very size of those Redwoods would dictate that each one must have a huge underground root system to keep them from toppling over during a major storm.
To the contrary, they have very shallow root systems. The one thing that saves those trees from falling is that the root systems become so intertwined, that all the trees are connected in sush away as a group to support each individual one.
Now that sounds like a real community. It’s all about the roots. A strong foundation with connections to others enhances the overall strength of community to help everyone withstand whatever forces come against it.
We are Much Like those trees!!!
The strength to sustain ourselves against the forces in life that seek to topple us is only found in community. The living of life in real time and in context of each other’s lives gives us stability, meaning, identity, and Love.
These are the roots that form a very solid system of interdependence among other members of the community.
