This past weekend I was once again with my Christian community, Numinous on our annual retreat. And, as it has been for the past 11 years, we had a deeply enriching time. Our annual retreat is a short little window into what we think heaven will be like; the ability to be in constant connection with one another. So often, our world, at least here in the USA, is so fast-paced, so disconnected, that we live in isolation. As I have written about here or in many other contexts, community is the state in which we should be, not in isolation which is so bad for our mental and physical health. We were created to be relational beings; to be known and to know others deeply.
I wish I could take all of you with me to our gatherings. I know the Internet has so much value, allowing us to chat together here–most of you I will never see face to face, yet we get to interact. But, there is always a limitation electronically. In the end, we need one another to be able to hold each other when we cry, laugh together happily, experience the fun of living. While on the retreat, our group took a short canoeing trip. Along the way, we found a rope swing and spent almost an hour just jumping, laughing, cringing when some took a spill and generally just reveling in life.
I hope that you also have the deepest of friends who are bound together beyond just mere affinity. See, if you look at my church, you would realize that there is no way all of these people are actually friends. We have geeks, preps, teens, old people, non-techies, outdoors types, quiet people, loud people, tattoos, piercings, intellectuals, roughs—I mean, we are a different group of people. Yet, Jesus Christ binds us together in a way that deepens our relationships. We are a family.
As I’ve told you before, my hope in writing is to share my thoughts and experiences that will inspire you towards Living Well. This idea, community, of life lived in shared experience, is perhaps the core of my philosophy of a life lived well. At the end of the day, you can pursue all the dreams you wish (as I do encourage you to); you can gain riches or fame; you can achieve the heights of power even, but if you do those things alone, you have not lived well. For most of us, we won’t get to those places, thus using those terms for defining success simply will leave you empty. If, however, you consider the connections of real friends who surround you with life and vitality as the basis for success, then you really will be a person of success.