Toby died! How? What? But, hey, wait a doggone minute there, buster!

Grrrr!!!

I started and stopped listening to the audio recording of A Dog’s Purpose within the first hour.

The story surprised me.

The twist angered me.

I would never ever pick up another book by W. Bruce Cameron again.

Never.

Ever.

Okay, that feeling lasted a week. Then I continued listening to the story.

After I’d finished and my friend Chuck had read the book as well, we discussed its merits. Chuck had read A Dog’s Purpose because I’d recommended it. We both loved it.

“Have you eaten at the Dragon’s Breath Restaurant?”

“You should go see ‘The Help’.”

“I just finished Quitter. Great book. I’ll loan it to you sometime.”

We recommend books, movies, restaurants, specialty stores…. We share stories and recipes and a taste of this and a little of that.

In those exchanges, you could say we’re googling.

Googling?

Yep! Googling!

When we share or recommend something to another person, we’re really in search engine mode. We want to know if anyone else on this great big planet likes what we like, laughs at what we laugh at, cries over the same stuff we cry over, feels the same feelings we feel.

We don’t want to move through life alone. We crave community.

Sure, we need solitude. Some more than others.

But we also need connection.

So we hang out at the local coffee shop.

Or join the Boy Scouts.

Or head over to the stadium.

Or chat online.

Facebook. Twitter. Linkd. Blog. Comment.

Whatever!

Whenever!

We want to find somebody who knows us and likes us. We say, “How ’bout them Cowboys?” (or Brewers or café mocha latte) because we can’t just say, “Will you be my friend?”

Even harder—and this is so middle school—do you like me?

“Sure, I like you.”

“Like, like like or just like?”

Okay, the simple thing here would be to sum this all up with “And the ONE knows us and likes us,” tie a ribbon on it, and call it a day.

But there’s something still bouncing around in my mind (and it’s got plenty of room to bounce).

Questions like:

1)      Why do we crave community?

2)      Are we community-craving creatures… (Sorry, I just liked the alliteration) Is our desire for connection hardwired or acquired—the old nature-versus-nurture question?

3)      What, if anything, does that desire tell us about the ONE?

Those darn BB’s are still ricocheting around in my head.

Question: choose one from above or feel free to offer one of your own.