Humana 2.0 - thought #1

"We are so fragmented we can't even make friends." - Erwin McManus from Humana 2.0

[Preface - I know some readers of this blog have a very different view of the world, especially when it comes to religion and spirituality. So this post may be a bit - hmm how shall I put it - dorky. Even so, thanks for reading this processing in my head.]

One of the themes from Humana 2.0 was getting away from evangelicism, out of the Christian enclave, outside the bubble - and into the real world and engaging humanity. One of the sessions on "Idols and Avatars", the idea that an avatar is divine embodiment and that we are all meant to embody the light within us to the world - not just to those in the Church already. In that respect, I consider myself lucky - I don't spend all of time around people that believe the same things as I do and I have a job that gets me out with people from all kinds of different backgrounds, cultures and contexts.

I am as busy as everyone else with a job and a family. I also have a hobby that requires a certain amount of people development - empowering, leading, planning, etc, which is a good thing - allowing me to invest in other people's lives - it really is a super opportunity. Your life - and mine - are meant to be invested.

But...
There is no progress in my life regarding being a friend to someone that doesn't believe the same things that I do. For instance, I can't remember the last time I:
- had a meal with
- saw a movie with
- had coffee with
someone that is outside of my sphere of influence related to SPACE. The point I got from Humana 2.0 is that it is really important to make room for people. Making room means maybe not doing all the church stuff all the time. Maybe deciding intentionally to give up the church activity sometimes in order to make room for someone that isn't connected to Church at all. And this idea is not something I've been very good at in a long time.

One other related thought here. In light of my recent career move, I'm going to be losing touch with and gaining some new coworkers. I'm sure both of these will provide some interesting opportunities.

Ok, one more related thought. Cubicle nation has also reinforced the idea that community is formed out of mission. My work environment used to be a lot of fun mostly because the people that I worked with were bound with a common sense of mission. We worked together to achieve a common goal that was larger than any of us individually. We were a team that had a sense of community, that were responsible for one another, that had a sense of belonging and camaraderie. This sense of mission has left us for many reasons [too much to go into here] - but the byproduct is a group of people that work together, but are not bound together at all. Community is not formed randomly - deep friendships are forged out of a common mission and dedication to something much bigger than ourselves.

Here are three quick things that will help me at least be aware of being a good friend. Maybe they will help you too.
::: BLESS
::: Remembering birthdays
::: 10:02am

Photo: The UrbanPoets via Ted Law's Flickr

[Related - my conference notes.]