Looking after one another has to be one of the main activities of community life. If we're not okay then we can't help other people. But the busyness of community can lead us to retreat into our shells rather than give as we should.It's a vicious circle: you think no one has noticed the difficulty you're experiencing, so you start to look after yourself, and paying attention to yourself means you're less likely to notice other people's needs and they in turn can feel uncared for.
The reality couldn't be further from the truth. In community we're desperately interested in how others are doing, we're in it together, we want to share our lives. But it doesn't take too much to make people feel like they've gone unnoticed.
Sometimes we have to slow down and remember who we are together. It doesn't take too much for the love to begin flowing again: a quick caring word, a laugh together, a helping hand - just that little bit of attention and affirmation. We have a maxim in our house: If you want to be feel happy, make others happy, if you want to be loved, love others. It works.
photo by beDub of flickr.com
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