Community & Immigration, Family & Education, General & Overarching

Joined-up Living

Posted on by Daniel Flenley
10
Apr

We affirm that God created people as threefold beings made of bodies, souls and spirits, and sets each of us in societies, communities and families.

However, our actions often fail to match our words and our good intentions, while social inequality is rising, many communities are divided and families are fracturing at unprecedented rates.

Therefore, let us model consistent, holistic living by consciously doing one thing each day to increase cohesion, both within ourselves and in our families, communities and societies.


Thesis Background
Daniel is an ecologist and poet. He occasionally gets a fire in his belly that can't solely be attributed to spicy food.

4 comments

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  • Daniel Flenley • author
    • 2 years ago
    You definitely have a point about the meals, Calum - though I think sharing spiritual food at a meal isn't necessarily a no-no, it would be good to have more meals without presentations and the likes. In terms of cohesion within ourselves, to come back to your question, I find that trying to understand myself with the help of things such as personality typing is a useful aid in working out why I'm not the person I try to be and what I can do to change that.
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  • Calum Samuelson
    • 2 years ago
    I like the feasibility of "doing one thing each day to increase cohesion". Do you have any examples from your own life that you'd be willing to share?
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    • Daniel Flenley • author
      • 2 years ago
      Sometimes sharing is exactly what's needed - sharing a meal, sharing a smile although perhaps more so to me as an introvert. Still, taking the time to initiate positive contact - a random act of kindness, or asking a colleague a question rather than letting the motorway miles roll by - can make all the difference.
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      • Calum Samuelson
        • 2 years ago
        Excellent. I'm very passionate about sharing meals. I think communities in the past have been much better at that, albeit often out of necessity to share work and resources. I would love to see more churches offering meals as just meals. No extra strings attached or presentation to sit through while you eat. It feels that meals are often used as a means to an end (not just by churches), which really takes away the whole possibility of genuinely 'sharing' because there is something expected in return.
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