Taking Time to Create Community

To me, one of the most serious causalities of our polarized election season is the lack of community. I spent a couple of months in Bali, Indonesia several years ago and I envied their village life. Families and neighbors lived in close proximity – near to each other for sharing chores, watching babies, and just plain visiting. I’d walk the streets of Kuta in the evening and hear families laughing, singing and playing instruments from within their compounds. Some of you know my stories about growing up in a front porch society on the south side of Chicago. Having had a place when I was younger to “hang out,” I find myself longing for those drop-in, spontaneous happenings as an adult. I am lucky that as a storyteller I work at storytelling festivals that often turn into pajama parties with my colleagues and friends. But I hate that I so often have to hop on a plane to get that kind of simple camaraderie.

So many people tell me they feel a sense of isolation, that we all say that being with the people we love is what matters the most, yet they’re the very ones with whom we spend the least amount of time.

Especially for anyone doing social justice work, community support is essential.

Opening our hearts to the suffering in the world is not for sissies. All of us are stronger and braver with the right group of fellow travelers. I have to constantly remind myself that spending time nurturing my community is as important as “doing my job.”

Susan O’Halloran is a diversity speaker who uses powerful and engaging stories to grab her audiences. She is an author of four books plus diversity curriculums, CDs and films. The Chicago Reader says O’Halloran “has mastered the Irish art of telling stories that are funny and heart-wrenching at the same time.” For a FREE GIFT go to: www.susanohalloran.com or by calling 1-866-997-8726. This article may be reprinted when this full byline is used.

Growing Up Japanese American

Storyteller, Anne Shimojima, describes feeling invisible growing up Japanese American. Why should any child, or adult, get the message they don’t count or even exist? Let’s all work to make our events, our media, our lives as inclusive as possible.

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