Individual Stories Creating Community

This weekend Suchitoto hosted a Jazz festival.  Watching Sister Peggy walk through the plaza was like watching politician walk through a crowd of supporters.  She really knows individuals, their personal stories, and family history.

Over coffee, she and I discussed the beauty in knowing the deep, complicated, stories of each individual in the community.   When sharing in those stories, there is a genuine sense in knowing, supporting, and accompanying people.  In that way, this place is a true community.  It is not only Peggy who knows individual stories but people throughout the town share in these stories as well.

She offered the question, why is it so easy for us to assume others have a “uni..versal” or “the same…story.”  It is easy for me to ignore or hide difficult pieces of individual stories.  Difficult parts of our lives are often thrown in a pillowcase for us to deal with when we are alone.  Sometimes people share burdens and I choose to move to the positive or to a solution before acknowledging the hurt.  It is more comfortable to move on quickly.  People here share in each others pain, accompany each other, but also move on with a positive “can-do” spirit.

This place feels like a true community.  Individuals share their unique stories and members are blessed with a genuine sense in knowing, supporting, and accompanying each other.