Yesterday was my birthday. It was full of all sorts of precious moments…
… waking up, thanking God for a beautiful, mild temp day in the smack-dab, middle of summer…
… indulging in toasted coconut donuts — a treat — also a favorite…
… attending a baseball game — with sweet seats — an all time favorite pastime…
There was some work, too, to complete this day, as my current “to do list” remains ongoing and especially active. But work is a necessary part of life; it made sense that some would be true on my birthday, too.
But the simple key I wish to speak of this day stems from the warm and witty wishes shared with me throughout the day…
… cards in the mailbox…
… calls and texts on the phone…
… meetings face-to-face…
… greetings via social media…
… from the moment I awoke until I went to bed…
It was so fun to hear from hundreds…
… my family…
… friends…
… persons I’ve treasured for decades…
… persons I’ve treasured for days…
But here’s the part that made me scrap what I previously intended to share this day…
I am a big believer in community: a feeling of fellowship amid a group of people, doing some sense of life together, with a common interests or set of values. Yesterday, I got a sweet sense of authentic community.
I heard from all sorts of people…
… from 9 to 95…
… men, women…
… children, teens, college kids, adults, and the elderly…
… my college friends, my kids’ friends…
… friends from elementary or high school…
… friends from baseball, show choir, church or even my favorite vet’s office…
… singles, married, widows, and divorced…
… gay, straight…
… black, white, Latino, etc…
… Christian, Jewish, Muslim, even agnostic and atheist…
… Democrat, Republican, and WBNRN (“Want to Be Nothing Right Now”)…
… white collar, blue collar, and varied levels of education…
… friends from all across the globe.
My point is this: none of the above differences diminished the community experienced yesterday. None of the above differences got in the way. In other words, we didn’t let our individual differences trump what’s most important… that is — dare said on my birthday — loving one another well.
I felt the love, respect, and appreciation that all people deserve regardless of individual difference.
I felt community.
And it was good.
Thank you to those of you who reached out yesterday. Thank you even more for the contagious example of authentic community you modeled to the rest of us. Let’s not allow differences to obstruct what is good. Let’s not choose that. Instead, let us allow those differences to educate and sharpen one another.
Respectfully… always…
AR