Thanks for the birthday wishes

I don’t know what happened this year. Typically I have about 5 people remember that it’s my birthday after it’s almost over. This year I’ve had all kinds of good wishes from friends everywhere. This includes email, twitter, facebook, and probably more places I haven’t checked. If I weren’t such a ham, I’d almost be embarrassed from all the attention. Fortunately, I’m loving it. Having said that, I’m grateful for your kind words and good wishes. I am fortunate to have so many people who care.

Community and Giving

Tonight while listening in on Twitter, I saw a link to the latest post by Connie Reece. Despite her condition, she made it a point to attend church today. At church, she heard her friend say “it’s an honor to serve you” when the communion plate came around. Those six words succintly described the value of community.

This realization reminds me of some things I have read, heard, and thought about regarding community. Many of us who are really digging the rise of social media on the Internet really enjoy the facility with which we can connect with others of similar interests and passions. Of course, in life we can have friends with a variety of interests. Online communities share common traits with our everyday communities, except for physical presence. This can be an important distinction.

One thought that comes to mind is what I read in one of the 7 Habits books is “if there is no gardener, there is no garden”. The context of that was that you can’t simply plant some seedlings and forget about them. This applies to anybody who has an online presence. You cannot jump on Twitter one day and say that you have a social network. You cannot check up on your facebook account once a month and expect that to be a way of keeping in touch with your friends. In order to have the garden, you need to actively and consistently maintain that garden. In social media, you need to actively and consistently maintain those connections. More than that, you need to make those connections meaningful; and, you need to make those connections in your every day life.

I can admit that I sometimes get carried away with checking up on my online accounts to see what my online friends are doing. It is easy to neglect your community locally. The first community we all have is our family. Beyond that there are our neighbors, co-workers, and fellow parishioners. We belong to these communities and we often neglect to put in the necessary time to maintain these local communities. We don’t often take the time to ask how somebody’s day is going, to wish a happy birthday, or to even ask if there is anything that we can do to help.

When it comes down to it, most of the people who are of note in the online community offer their friends something of value. They give valuable advice, ideas, assistance, and many other things. Locally, we give similar things to our communities. We give our time, advice, ideas, assistance, and more. I find that many of the things that make you a star in the online world are the same things that make you a star in your local community. More than that, we are physically present to actually do something.

Going back to the concept of gardens requiring a gardener, it is important to remind you that you should spend a little time being of service in your home, church, and other communities where people live with you and are at hand to help you in a time of need. Be sure to serve those who are physically in your community as you would those in your online communities. It is your local friends who can check in on you and offer a helping hand much easier than your online friends can. They are worth the same amount of attention; give it to them.