mexico

If I could just spend more time on airplanes, I would get lots of writing done. What is it about me and planes… being forced to sit still for long stretches of time? Probably. Far below is the country I was bemoaning returning to just a few short hours ago, while sipping cool beverages on a tranquil Mexican beach. I had been contemplating writing my resignation letter for several days as well, but decided to blog a bit instead. Just kidding… sort of.

My week of vacation was the furthest thing from harrowing, but the week preceding it at the International AIDS Conference indeed was. Do you ever have those times in work or life when things are so intense and stressful and full of activity and drama that you think you might just collapse? Yeah, that was me. I definitely needed the recuperation time afterward with dearly loved friends, where the biggest decision of the day was “the beach or the pool” (usually “both”). Anyway, I am not going to quit Monday morning or anything, but I have begun to see the fundamental shift on my horizon which has been months in emerging. And I’m blaming it on a boy.

Ok, so it’s nothing romantic (gotcha!) but I’ve become acquainted with Shane Claiborne recently, through his first book and hearing him speak recently as well. He and a few friends started an “intentional community” about a decade ago in one of the most notorious neighborhoods of north Philadelphia. Their aim = to live out the Love of Jesus in a practical, tangible way by loving the marginalized, poor and forgotten in society and personifying peace and non-violence in the world around them. They had (and still have) an open-door policy and anyone who has needs of any kind is welcome to share in whatever their little community has to offer.

As you can imagine, amid a plethora of challenges, they have flourished, and Shane has been thrust into a bit of spotlight with his most recent book, Jesus for President. It’s a multifaceted work, using unique storytelling devices and wacky (yet meaningful) illustrations. The premise is that we shouldn’t look for our political leaders to change the world – those changes should begin with us. If we begin to “be the change” we want to see in the world within our own immediate communities, that will make more of a difference than anything we can ever do in a voting booth.

Now, I’m not (nor does he) advocate not voting or anything of the such – quite the opposite (I still believe political leaders can at least help bring change to the world!). But the whole concept of the community-level impact that we’re all capable of really, really shook me, and the notion that "it matters more how we live our lives on November 3rd and 5th than how we vote on November 4th." And though it may seem like I’m not writing at all about Mexico at this point, I guess it was there that this realization finally took a deeper hold… once I was finally sort of quiet and surrounded by friends who represented “community” on a fundamental level to me.

What I forever refer to as “the best job I ever had” immersed me in community. It was in Oak Cliff, one of the most notorious neighborhoods in Dallas, that I learned what living out Love in a tangible way was really all about. My meager salary put me below the poverty line and the house we lived in has since been condemned and leveled. But there amid the “desolation” I was dripping, absolutely dripping, with love and community...

But don’t worry, I’m not going to abandon malaria and pack up and move to north Philly and join Shane's group anytime soon. I'm thankful I've got a good job that is sharpening my skills and toughening me up, if nothing else. But I am going to work harder to create and join in community. Options are all around me, just like they are you – neighbors whose names I don’t even know right outside my front door, all kinds of places to volunteer, co-workers I could make a bit more effort to get to know over lunch or coffee. My excuse has been my busyness, but really, I think it’s just been laziness or even apathy in disguise. Just because my work is now many layers removed from any tangible impact on anyone’s life, doesn’t mean that my day to day existence has to be one of "safe distance” as well…

Community is on my horizon.

Oh, and if you'd like to meet Shane, too, here's a little clip of my new "friend," but if you're really curious, get his first book... I dare you.