I've been thinking more and more about community. Whether you've experienced yoga or not you may have heard of the term 'namaste.' Namaste means 'we are all one' or we are all connected. If you stop and think about all of the communities you are a part of, you may be surprised how far reaching your communities are. Your family, work community, neighborhood community, friends, school, frequent shopping haunts, running group, biking group, sports teams, book club, and on and on it goes. We are all interconnected and ripples show their effects in one way or another.
I think it's very important to create an adoption community for kids who were adopted. It's nice to know there are other people who were adopted too, be it a neighbor, or a friend's cousin, etc. It's natural to seek out others who have similar experiences, it creates an opportunity to connect. Knowing others who have similar experiences also creates a sense of normalcy.
Our kids rely on us to create their environments, including the communities they are a part of. The friends we have, as parents, affect our childrens' friends. The communities we bring our children into, affects their experience and their perception of who they are and how they relate to the world around them. What role models do you hope your children will choose? Will any of those role models also live in their neighborhood? Will you be proactive in seeking out others to help your child improve their grades at school or improve their form for an upcoming dance competition? Will you seek others who share the experience of adoption to possibly help your child figure out what being adopted means to them? I think it would it be very valuable for my kids to be able to ask the advice of an adult who was adopted, to have such a trustworthy adult within my child's community would mean a great deal to me.
Communities don't just appear one day at your door step, they are created. There are people all around us, everyday, some we choose to interact with, some we don't. Communities are started by someone initiating contact, extending a smile, taking an interest in others, being open and inviting others in.
I don't consider myself to be particularily skilled at creating communities, but I aim to become better at it, because I'd like very much to create an adoption community for my kids. I'd like my girls to be able to go out into their neighborhood and know other people were adopted, just like them- be it their friend's dad, the previous owner of their house, a neighbor down the street or another kid at their school. I know if I was adopted, that would be important to me.
Be a leader in your community and create an adoption community for your kids too.
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