City = Community?

Phil sent me this great article written by a couple who sold their huge house in Texas after their kids were all grown and now live in downtown Seattle. The most interesting part to me is when they're talking about how they feel less isolated, mostly because they're not separated from the world in their own little cars:

Our everyday lives have changed in every way imaginable. We don't own a car, so we walk everywhere, including to and from work. We use the bus or ferry if we want to go farther afield. This has had a profound effect on how we interact with people. We realize now that the cocoons of our cars kept us well insulated from the people around us. Our genuine interactions were with family and coworkers, the only people who saw us stripped of the metal that clothed and protected us. Our neighbors, we discovered, were virtually strangers.

Now, we stand face-to-face with people in our building’s elevators, at our corner hangouts, and on the sidewalks. We chitchat and pet our neighbors’ dogs. We exchange “good mornings” with the people we pass everyday on our way to work. We’ve developed friendships with several proprietors and servers at our favorite restaurants.

We have always been fascinated with the idea of living and working in a big city like Seattle or Chicago for these exact reasons. It would be fascinating to be thrown together with a whole bunch of people whose lives and experiences are totally different from ours, and to learn from them and just live life with them. With the exception of church and Serrano's Coffee, Colorado Springs is not like this for us. Sure we see our friends almost anywhere we go. But, here we pick who we want to interact with and can basically avoid anyone else in the entire city. I think the way this couple is living in Seattle is more like how Christ lived and demonstrated to us that we should live -- in community with those around us; not isolated in our own little bubbles with people who are always validating us.

Although I believe living and working downtown somewhere would be the "easier" way to experience true community like this, there are other ways to have genuine community, even in suburbia. It's harder, though, I think. We have to step out and get involved in others' lives by serving them. Maybe we need to take meals to single moms or serve at soup kitchens or become a Big Brother or Big Sister. Of course I've never done any of these things because I'm lazy. But God is really challenging me to stop isolating myself and start serving others with no agenda but to care for them and give them the respect they deserve as other human beings made in God's image. This article was a great reminder that this is how life is meant to be lived out -- together, in community.

Now I have to practice what I preach. I'd be more inclined to pick the easy route. Phil - want to move?