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rhythmaningI don’t have a great sense of community; I am never sure that I understand what the word means – I certainly don’t recognise many of the uses of it. It was one of the few things my last partner and I disagreed on: she had a strong sense of community, and it meant something very real to her, something she needed, something she was part of, which I had difficulty reconciling.
I certainly don’t get the desire of people online to be in a community: I can see how the websites (and their owners) benefit from community, but although I subscribe to sites such as flickr, I do not feel part of the community: I use them to look at pictures, and to post my own, but that doesn’t join me to the millions of other people who use the site.
Strangely, though, my mother was clearly part of many real world communities: different spheres, circles, of people, rarely overlapping, to whom she played an important role. The sense of community I have gathered from people I have spoken to over the past couple of weeks is tangible – solid and meaningful; and something I don’t have.
I don’t remember this when I was younger: perhaps she was too busy working and bringing up a family (and travelling the world, too) to have the time or energy to build communities; maybe it is a function of semi-retirement, something she devoted her energies to.
It is curious – a different side to her. And it is making me think of community all over again.
I certainly don’t get the desire of people online to be in a community: I can see how the websites (and their owners) benefit from community, but although I subscribe to sites such as flickr, I do not feel part of the community: I use them to look at pictures, and to post my own, but that doesn’t join me to the millions of other people who use the site.
Strangely, though, my mother was clearly part of many real world communities: different spheres, circles, of people, rarely overlapping, to whom she played an important role. The sense of community I have gathered from people I have spoken to over the past couple of weeks is tangible – solid and meaningful; and something I don’t have.
I don’t remember this when I was younger: perhaps she was too busy working and bringing up a family (and travelling the world, too) to have the time or energy to build communities; maybe it is a function of semi-retirement, something she devoted her energies to.
It is curious – a different side to her. And it is making me think of community all over again.