By: The CPNO Board
Candler Park is that kind of place you can burrow into, wrap yourself around and within, like a familiar blanket holding you in that safe, kind and loving way.
A lot of places are like us in that way. Yet we seem to be at another level of caring, with a big share of people who subscribe to the notion that we not only help one another, but that we belong to one another.
Still, the best of places go through tough, trying times and tough conversations. Everywhere and everyone has to endure it and when we do, we would do well to look after ourselves. Because, as we all know, or we should know by now, being good to ourselves puts us in a better position to help and to love others.
The last little while, we’ve had a taste of those trying times and conversations. That warm blanket feels a little soggy right now. Here’s an example: Had you read recent messaging aimed at volunteers in our community, you might think Candler Park had drifted from that good and decent place where it has always been moored. Hurtful language — surely deployed in the heat of the moment, with far too much emotion and far too little thought — was aimed at people simply trying to do good work for the community.
They were damaging words, not really in the CP lexicon. Surely not language we use when engaging in what should be a neighborly dialogue. It gets more unhappy as you start examining the sometimes volcanic reactions to various important issues of the day, from the recent bylaws amendments, to the Safer McLendon project, to the gate in the fence between Iverson Park and the MARTA station, to the historic designation study. All of this work, by the way, is super well-intentioned and labored over by many, many people who have donated their time.
We are … better than that. We know we are better than that, because we always have been.
The thing about tough times though is that they can make you stronger, they can remind you of what is really important in life.
So what’s important? Well, that is as crystal clear as the face of your Candler Park neighbor.
Be kind. That is who we are and always will be.