Day 99 of Gratefulness: A Sense of Community

Today I got to walk around and introduce Denver to a couple moving here.  A couple that will be renting my condo for the next 6 months.  I wanted to make them feel fully comfortable and see how close they were to everything.  What I gained from the experience today was a sense of community.  This has been my neighborhood for the last 8.5 years and as much as I am ready for a change I love what this neighborhood is- a community. 

How do you define community and what does it mean to have a sense of community?  I can walk into a few of the local restaurants, coffee shops and even boutique stores and people know who I am and might even know my name.  I can walk down the street and run into someone I know.  I can call a neighbor up and ask if I can park behind them.  I can sit and chat with the homeless that have been regulars on the corner for years.  When tragedy strikes many of us will come out to help, to mourn and look out for one another.  As much as I might not know someone’s name that I see on a regular basis I know that they are a part of the same community.  We collectively create this space, this space that I love so much.  It is incredibly beautiful for all the people who are a part of this community.   I will miss it a lot and it was not an easy decision for me to leave it.  I am confident that I will create a new community wherever I go because that is who I am.