Dreaming of the Dream...

Walking on the first spring-like day of the year, I saw it.  A brilliantly arranged flock of birds, dancing in the wind patterns only they could see.  The sky was vivid blue, and their inky blackness swooped in perfect harmony. 

It made me wonder...

Why aren't human beings in such beautiful communal union with their surroundings...with each other? 

Why do we walk down the street, passing the faces of our community with barely a glimmer of recognition? 

Why do we eat alone, in our private homes, away from the fires of other hearths.  In fact...where are the hearths to begin with? 

Where are our sisters and brothers?  Our uncles and aunts?  Our grandmothers and grandfathers?  Our parents? 

Where are they?

Often, we, in our nuclear families, are alone.  Striving to make things work with less than we have ever had.  Yeah, there is more "stuff"...but less substance. 

Where are the elders who could pick you up if you fell?  Where are the wizened folks who look to teach the ones who are trying to find their way? 

I look into the sky, and I see community.  I look into the fields and see the grazing deer, and community is there as well.  I look into the town, and see the cars rushing past each other...each person with his own agenda and plan for the day, the week, the year...

My children go to Aikido classes, and there, they see other children who they will laugh with as they learn the art of non-violent defense.  And then, at the end of the hour, we all bustle back into our cars and drive off to our homes. 

Once in our homes....distractions abound.  Homework, housework, meal prep, consumption......bedtime.

I look out the window and see the stars twinkling together in the sky...and I wonder where my community is. 
I wonder how many tomorrows will be spent in a human created isolation that contrasts with what I believe humans, as social creatures, were meant to have. 

In another time...We would have played and worked together.  We would have cooked and eaten together.  Our children would grow up and learn together.  And we would commune with the stars, moon and sun together.  We would birth our children together.  And mourn our losses together.  Our husbands would bond together.  And we would nurture together.  We would KNOW each other, just as the birds in the sky flying in perfect harmony know each other.  And we would be there for each other...because, we would BE each other.