Community: blogs and threads

I wrote a blog recently…

human connection… so rare and fleeting

…that attracted a fair amount of attention.  My guess is that because I wrote about relationships and community which are popular subjects on Gaia.  I decided to post it here because I also wanted to mention two other threads in.

Because of the lengthy discussion in the comments section, OM decided to post it as a thread in the Collective Wisdom pod.

In the Gaia Networking pod, Meenkashi started a thread where she wanted people to post blogs about a certain subject.  She posted my blog as an example.

Blogs on Community, Interaction, Communication

I just always think its interesting the links that get made between pods (and between sites on the web).  My blog is about community and those two threads are about community and they're in pods about community.  The very act of linking is a creating of the substructure that helps build an online community.  This site wouldn't be a commuity if all the blogs and pods were isolated.

Anyways, there ya go.  If you want, you could add your own examples here.  Or if you have any good blogs about this, don't be shy about posting it in the Gaia Networking thread.

Marm

Re: Community: blogs and threads

Marmalade,

 

I read your blog and find it quite interesting. The subject of humans connecting to each other is certainly a worthwhile one for us to ponder here. I do, however, have a slightly different way of exploring the concept.

     I look at human connectivity as happening in the moment. Many people can make strong connection with others in the moment but after the moment has left, so has the connection. In our busy world, most people have a lot of acquaintances but few real friends. I agree that lasting connections are rare but who is to say that the temporary connections (especially if they are profound) are not extremely beneficial to the human spirit?

     When I was younger, I wanted to hold onto relationships. It was especially important to hold onto relationships from the past during transition periods (like from elementary to middle school). Perhaps this is because I grew up in a series of foster homes and my entire existence seemed to have a transitory nature to it. Now that I am older and my existence is more stable, it's not as important to cling to past relationships (although I do appreciate them). I make numerous temporary connections in my life (some online & others at my work), that can sometimes be profound.  

Re: Community: blogs and threads

My blog was just my contemplating, but it wasn't a statement of my beliefs.  I was expressing how I felt and much of it was a random mix of thoughts.

What you say doesn't conflict with my own experiences.  I don't regret any of the temporary connections even if they do add to my sense of longing.  Temporary connections aren't inherently a lesser form of relationship, but I do believe they can be problematic.  Our society is such a shifting culture that it creates a rootlessness in people.  This taken to an extreme as is common in many modern countries is probably unhealthy. 

I'm not saying that temporary connections should be avoided or judged, but rather that they should be balanced with more stable long-lasting relationships.  That said, maybe the more intense connections are inevitably short-lived.  However, intense is not the same thing as deep.  My friendship with a guy I've known since I was a kid isn't intense, but it is very deep.  My friendship with him is very stable and no clinging to the past is necessary.

Whatever the case, I wouldn't want to generalize too much.  Different people have different wants and needs.  And those wants and needs change during different stages of life.  I'm not really making any suggestions for others to follow.  If temporary connections are good enough for someone, then its not up to me to judge that person.