[Seasons: Summer XVI]
If early community formation requires risk (mostly by visitors) and genuine warmth (mostly by those welcoming others), longterm community formation requires a different kind of risk by *all* participants: openness to change.
All relationship last because of loyalty, but they remain rich and healthy because they embrace growth and change.
Why is community so risky? Blending the “autonomy" of more than one person often looks like submission to the common good and that bristles our obsessive commitment to individualism and freedom. But it’s so obvious that any healthy relationship requires this kind of risk over time. It’s the abandonment of selfishness for self-giving love.
There’s no loss in the end here. Only gain.
Summer serves as a wonderful metaphor for this kind of community formation. There’s no selfishness in summer. Everything gives of itself, from abundance, without reservation. And the growth and change is remarkable!
