Themes & Questions on Belonging & Community

	Community: Many of us feel both a pull toward community and a push away - and both responses are perennial. One can see oneself as a non-joiner, but then we tend to join with other non-joiners... and there you are, in a group. Sometimes what we put into a community depends on the energy we see others putting in. While we may not be part of a formal community, being authentic about who we are can draw a community to us.

	Place: There is an opportunity to support people in developing communities where they live, as more and more people telecommute. An essential ingredient here is a sense of place, a localness such as one gets shopping at a Farmer's Market and talking to growers - or going to a pool party out in the hills.

	Failure: The experience of failure can be a gift - both by giving us a thicker skin and also by developing a willingnes to "just do it", to try things out. When the stakes are high, and failure brings us to the brink of disaster, sometimes we discover miracles in the ways that people reach out to help.

	Purpose: Purpose in life can change over time, or multiple careers. It can be difficult to arrive at a sense of purpose, with so much to continue to learn. Living in one's purpose can lead to a wonderful expansion of energy and authenticity, although there are still times when we'll feel constricted and lose access to it.

	Corporations: It's possible to keep our identity in a corporation by being a "rebel", but we may feel beat up in the process. Peer relationships are one way of sustaining ourselves. One can go from experience "death by 1000 cuts" to being valued and needed for being one's real self. One difference is in working with individuals in corporations where we connect, and who understand the same language. We can also keep our identity by setting aside "our own time" to pursue what we value - such as getting up early to maintain an intellectual life, before going to work.

	What are the consequences (to ourselves and this society) of living without a sense of community?