Community is Like a Gem
Community \ ke-`myu-net-e \ n, pl -ties 1: a body of individuals with common interests living in a particular area; also: an interacting population of various individuals in a common location 2: the area itself 3: a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society 4: a group linked by a common policy 5: joint ownership or participation
Many people react to the concept of community by saying that it is either impractical or totally unrealistic. They say it's just not workable in a stressful, competitive world like ours. Especially a world that keeps us from being productive/competitive in the market place. Or they say "it's not only impractical, it's impossible, a fantasy, a pipe dream, it sounds good, but you just can't get there from here".
Community has been described as being like a precious gem...
* It starts with a rather ordinary material (rock).
* Time and pressure change the unobserved rock underground.
* Through intentional, skilled cutting and polishing, something incredibly beautiful and valuable is produced.
* It has so many facets it is impossible to see them all, take them all in at once. No one view can capture all its facets.
* If someone had never seen a precious gem before and you described it to them, they would think it was an impossibility, especially considering the ordinary-looking rock from which it began.
Community is like a precious gem. If you take ordinary people involved in difficult situations over a period of time (pressure comes with the territory) and add the refinements and work of experts, it's very much like a stone being cut into a gem.
gem \ 'jem \ n 1: JEWEL 2: a usu. valuable stone cut and polished for ornament 3: something valued for beauty or perfection 4: highly prized or well beloved.
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