Unfortunately, community in our culture too often means a group of people who go crashing through the woods together, scaring the soul away. … Under these conditions, the intellect, emotions, will, and ego may emerge, but not the soul; we scare off all the soulful things, like respectful relationships, goodwill, and hope.

We don’t like mixing with others or meeting strangers, and we’re not interested in flattery or small talk. A serious discussion on a profound, relevant subject with one or two similarly-minded people is another matter! But this reluctance to mingle can limit us socially and professionally.

quintessentially human, which can only be cultivated through interaction with others, and which a solitary person cannot manifest. It’s one of many such qualities. And here am I, with people, people everywhere, yet not a one to interact with. I’m only a fraction of what a complete individual with my intelligence could be.

We traverse the social world asking ourselves, “Are these my people?” “Do we see the world similarly?” “Do I want my identity associated with them?” These are the questions we ponder, subconsciously or otherwise, when membership is evaluated within a particular tribe that is representative of a larger congregation.

Not all people make meaning in the same way, so we tend to gravitate toward those who share a similar worldview and, collectively, self-identify with them. Those who interpret the world the way we do, we call “our people,” and those who do not, we call “crazy.”