Building Stronger Bonds: The Power of Community Connections

Back in the day, it was common to rely on a neighbor, whether or not you actually liked the person, because they were your neighbor. There was an oft unstated understanding that we could only thrive in community. Now, it’s less common for us to know our neighbor’s names. 

We go and we come in the bubble of our cars. Even if we’re on the bus or train, we use earbuds to pass the time with books, music, podcasts. And as we’re passing the time, we’re isolating ourselves from other humans. Creating a barrier between ourselves and human connection. Not our intent, maybe, but definitely an impact. It can’t be a surprise with the way we’ve constructed our lives as a collective that people are feeling lonely. 

My question to you, beautiful humans, is who is in your community? Maybe a better question is what does community mean to you? There are a bunch of definitions of community, but my favorite comes from the ecological lens. A group of interdependent organisms. Living beings whose fates are inextricably intertwined. Do you know when we do this well? In the midst of a crisis. I am always so touched when people from other states and countries come to help us overcome a natural disaster. And I am so saddened by how quickly we return to throwing stones from afar once the crisis has been averted. 

If we lived as though the ecological definition of community were our truth, what would our interactions with each other look like? What would we have to let go of to live by this definition of community? What would it look like for you to live as though the human race were interdependent organisms? Think of one thing you might do differently. What’s stopping you from doing it now?