Who Are My People?

As someone who's moved around a bit, at times I wonder where I fit in. When I lived in Seattle, I didn't feel outdoorsy enough. In DC, I could never keep up will all the current events. And in Memphis, well, I often feel like a fish out of water.

What I need, I suppose, is a strong sense of self; I've got to find confidence in my own identity. At times, my desire to experience and understand other cultures makes me a sponge. An observant, analytical sponge, but an amorphous floaty blob nonetheless.

So I've been pondering this question: who are my people? Let me caveat this post by saying I'm not some kind of hermit - I like people! Old friends, new friends, bring 'em on. I can hang out with just about anyone. What I'm considering today is the type of people who I'm energized by spending time with, regardless of geography.

• People who like to laugh and don't take things too seriously. Life's too short to sit around scowling or worrying! I've got a sarcastic streak (if you hadn't noticed), and humor is my preferred coping mechanism when life gets tough.
  
• People who've experienced more than one cultural context, so they acknowledge and appreciate multiple viewpoints. I especially like hanging out with immigrants or international students/visitors, though I know plenty of born and bred Americans who fit this category as well.
  
• Word people. People who care about language, grammar, and expressing themselves effectively. Writers. I personally express myself better in writing, but it would be awkward to sit around a table with a bunch of friends, reading each other's blogs instead of talking. So I try to string sentences together and speak them as well :)

And then, you can't go wrong quoting St. Francis, right? <Spoiler alert for Sunday's choir anthem!> I like talking with people of different religions and learning about their perspective. As a Christian, I find this poem especially resonant, but I think it can speak to others as well.

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.