Alchemical Blog

Syracuse is a tough town.

When I moved here in August of 2003, I couldn't help but notice people walk in the street all year round. In August, it's not to avoid the snow and ice piled up on the sidewalks; it almost seems to say, "Hit me with your SUV, it won't put me in any worse shape than I am now."

I talked to people. The guy at the oil change place who said he'd been here all 23 years of his life and couldn't wait to be able to leave; the 45-year-old who used to work for Nestle in Fulton who was working two full-time jobs at Carousel Center to almost make up for that lost salary.

People didn't have anything nice to say about Syracuse.

And then I figured it out. You have to walk out your door and look around to find what's going on.

Yes, you can absolutely believe that if someone wants you to join their group or come to their event it should be evident – they should come find you. And maybe that's true, but the people who are part of groups or who put together events are out having fun. They don't see why you're so miserable.

After all, they walked out their doors, looked around, and found a community to not only be a part of, but to help grow.

As each community grows, it takes on four kinds of people:

1. People who become consistent members, most of them not aspiring to or taking leadership roles, who are there at virtually every gathering of the community.
2. People who are natural leaders. These are people who walk into a new group, are sitting with the board by the third meeting, and who wind up leading the community after only a short involvement, often to much grumbling by members who never aspired to leadership roles, but who are nonetheless put out that they were passed over.
3. People who breeze in, make a large impact very quickly, and then play only a minor role from there on out. These are people who tend to do this in many communities, and thus are able to bring communities together for mutually beneficial and previously unexplored relationships.
4. People who are there at or near the beginning of a community, and bemoan the fact that the community grows and evolves, despite their best efforts to keep it as a small, narrowly-focused organization.

As you approach a community, think about two things: (a) which type are you, and (b) what does this community want? If your presence in the community would be harmful to it, do the community a favor and back off.

If you are unsure, talk to leadership; they are the voice of the community and in the end, they will either support you in your role, or let you know your energies are best used elsewhere.