community spirit

photo by jen hosking

Today as I peddled my bike down the street I thought about a conversation I had been having earlier with a friend about Dharavi & the community spirit that exists in India's largest slum. To a westerner the slums are considered disgusting and filthy and yes they probably are, but it's the sense of community spirit that burns strongly in the hearts of these people that I admire. Whilst Brunswick is nothing like India I still like to feel part of a community. I dislike the thought of arriving home & closing the front door & not being connected with the outside world.

I arrive home to find a cat waiting patiently for me on the front step. The cat happily followed me inside the house & after retrieving the phone number engraved on the disk from around the cat's neck I make a quick call to the owner. I now know, 'Chinard' lives at the end of our street & has been out all night.

Human connection (& the random visit from a local cat), play an incredibly important part of healing process during a time of loss & grief. We have made some amazing connections with people during this time, new friendships have formed, established friendships have grown stronger & some friendships have unfortunately faded into the background. The loss of someone can certainly divide friendships. Unlike my new friend 'Chinard', Sunday can never be returned, but it is the community spirit & the friendships that will continue to see us through.