Tag: connectedness

Binding Ties

When I was in elementary school, we would get to watch a couple of television shows in our classroom each week. One of the shows was the Electric Company. The other show was the Big Blue Marble. The latter show would feature stories about kids from different parts of the world. The producers intended to communicate that our world is not really as big as it may seem and that by getting to know people from other parts of the world, we would build a better society together. There was even a pen-pal program (writing actual letters to another person for those who do not understand this concept) that would encourage an ongoing connection and conversation.

I share this memory from the past because I have been thinking about the connectedness of people. It is not surprising that in the age of the internet and social media, the ability to connect with others is even greater. Additionally, technology allows this connectedness to be almost instantaneous. Yet with the tools provided to us, we still seem to struggle with connecting to others.

I am a fairly outgoing person. I engage in conversations with a variety of people in a variety of settings without much difficulty most of the time. Not everyone is comfortable in social settings or in engaging in conversation with individuals whom they have not met. The challenge in being able to have a dialogue with another person is finding that connection. Sometimes the setting provides a clear connecting point such as attending a wedding, being at a job-related gathering, or being at a school event. Other times it may be harder to identify the commonalities which you might have with another person.

The truth that was presented on the television show, Big Blue Marble, is that we have more in common with one another than we ever realize. It is important to find that connection with one another. The reality is that our actions impact one another. This has become increasingly clear in regard to how we treat creation. Even greater are the acts of violence which continually shake our lives. When we acknowledge that we have more in common than differences, then we begin to see each other as valued. If we see the value in another, we are less willing to take a negative action toward that person.

We are connected in ways we have yet to discover. Our commonality far exceeds anything which would divide us. All of us live together on this big blue marble called earth. It is time we lifted up our connectedness.

Small Town Life

All the formative years of life which I can remember were lived in a rural town in Iowa. My parents had returned to their hometown when I was barely over a year old. This would be my home until I graduated from high school. As much as I craved to leave this small town, I now realize how much of a benefit I received growing up there. The list of benefits is so long that I have decided to share over a period of posts what life was like growing up in a small town.

The first benefit which has become clear to me is the people who were in my life. You may have heard it said that when you are raised in a small town you have more parents than the adults who live in the same house as you. I can say that was true for me. Not one place in the town existed where some adult was unaware of what you were doing. The challenge of this reality is that the adults talked to one another. This meant that often my mother would know what I had been up to before I even made it back home. While this can be frustrating at times, it was a great joy when you needed help.

I recall a time when I was twelve years and was grateful that an adult was there to help me out. It happened to be the 25th wedding anniversary of my parents. I had accidentally left my camera at our lunch location and so rode my bicycle back to the place to retrieve my camera. Our house was located along the same street where the K-12 school building stood. The street was a wide street which was good since there often was one of the school buses parked along the street in front of the school. This was the case on this particular weekend. As I was riding my bicycle back home, I had my head down because I was thinking about the responsibilities which my sisters had given to me during the open house that afternoon. Generally, this would not be a problem since I knew the street so well and knew that drivers in my town would always drive around me if they happened to cross my path. After having thought through my responsibilities, I raised my head to realize that I was feet from the back end of a school bus. I could not stop in time and I hit the bus. The front tire of my 10-speed bicycle wedged between the bottom part of the school bus bumper and the street. Getting over the initial shock, I figured I would free my bicycle and complete my journey back home. I did not realize that when I hit the bus, my head must have hit the back door of the bus and I had two deep cuts on the top of my head. My body reacted to this trauma so that after freeing my bicycle from the bus bumper, I tipped over and could not move; I was in shock. Thinking that I was now paralyzed, I started screaming for help. A woman who lived across the street from the school heard my pleas for help and came running over. Since everyone knew each other in my small town, she knew who I was and how to contact my family. She helped me on to my feet and I then saw the pool of blood which had flowed from the two cuts. Slowly she walked me to her house and called my parents. Family members came down and at once took me to the hospital where I received many stitches before returning home and making a very brief stop at the open house to assure my mother that I was alright. The help of an adult to a child in need in our small town was greatly appreciated.

I could tell story after story about how people provided all forms of aid for me physically throughout my growing years. I could even tell stories about times when I wish people were not so willing to help my parents watch over me. But I want to share instead how living in this town with the others shaped who I am today. I am convinced that the people who surrounded me influenced some fundamental aspects of my personality. These aspects are both positive and negative. I learned how to watch out for other people. As I shared above, people were always willing to provide assistance to anyone who was in need. When a major fire harmed the downtown area of my town, including a business owned by my aunt, people came to help in any way they could; from the volunteer firefighters from our town and three other towns, to the people who came to help clean soot and ash from the items in the business.

I am a person who gets involved in my community and organizations in which I am a member. I believe that I learned this in our small town. Whether an event at the school or a special celebration for the town, volunteers were in plenty. It truly took everyone’s involvement to make something happen. The people whom I lived with showed me the importance of commitments, doing your part, and having pride in your efforts.

The people of my hometown showed me what it means to be connected. Today I always look for the ways in which I can, and am, connected with others. We all shared so much of our lives with one another that our commonalities were clear. Yes there were differences but these were a lot fewer than our similarities. When a person realizes this truth, then instead of having division you can celebrate the uniqueness of every person while at the same time celebrate what it means to be connected.

I am sure as I continue to share posts about growing up in my small town, you will see even more ways in which the people of my hometown shaped me. I want to thank those people who were a part of molding me into the person who I am today.

Keep watching for future posts about growing up in a small Iowa town and feel free to share your experiences.