According to the World English Dictionary, a tribe is:
a social division of a people, esp of a preliterate people, defined in terms of common descent, territory, culture, etc.
Though we consider ourselves a literate people, this pretty well describes a tribe. Especially the “etc” part. But in our modern culture, people use tribe in all sorts of ways to mean all sorts of different things. I want you to look at the people around you – the people you love and care for and the people who love and care for you in return. Your close friends, your office mates, your neighbors, and your family. So often during the holidays we focus on our traditional family unit, but our chosen tribe is important as well.
The tribe is like family, but bigger and, in our society, one that you get to pick (mostly). Tribe members are people you can call to pick you up when you’re stranded on the side of the road – or at least, you could if you were in the same town. These are the people who are there for you and who care about your well being. They’re the people who are willing to go out of their way and make sacrifices for you, not because they owe you or because they have to, but because they genuinely want to.
Our tribes tend to be on the small side. Not including family, maybe 20 people, often times less. The tribe is very important. You’re like family.
But what about the other tribes? What about the people who aren’t in your tribe? What about them? Are you working to extend your tribe? What if your whole city, state, province, country, or planet were your tribe? What if we were the United Tribe of Humanity? Reaching out to each other, lifting each other up? Caring for one another? I’m not saying that you don’t care about your fellow humans, because I’m sure you do. Down deep inside, we all do. But sometimes the needs of the world can be overwhelming, and I can certainly understand that. I’m not meaning to be up here on my blog being preachy and all of that. I just want to put the idea out there and let it gestate in our brains.
All of us, together.
One tribe.
What would it look like?
