Community is Essential
Community is what our humanity is built on, and in recent years, we have been challenged to stay grounded in our human values and not let politicians, news channels, and digital devices dictate a direction that separates us from each other.
External factors have pushed us away from our humanity. These days, it's hard to know what's real, even in the information we consume. So this month's post and conversations focus on building trust in each other, and especially in ourselves.
What drives you to community and human connection?
Community is created through various commonalities, from hobbies, personal interests, our children's interests, pets, values, beliefs, work, environments, and anything that we are interested in investing our time in.
Wherever we go, we can find a community we can connect to. And lately, as technology evolves, I find that community and real-life human connection have expanded and, for many, is a focal point. Communities have taken various shapes over time.
One of my favorite things to do is talk to people about how they see the world and what's on their minds, and to give them space to share their stories and thoughts. And it doesn't matter what sessions I hold; conversations and connecting to our daily lives always take center stage.
What I have found, especially in my new series, "Everyday Conversations by Everyday People" (only accessible if you are on the mailing list, unless the interviewee has given consent to post it publicly), is that people are extremely insightful. It's not that you haven't heard what they are sharing before; because people experience life differently, the insight is reframed, we gain a new perspective, and we realize we can still connect and find similarities. And this may be true with every person, not every topic.
These conversations are here to create another version of how we are coming together in community, even if we aren't in the same space. Because life is moving faster than ever, and community needs space and time, we need to feel community wherever we go; by listening to other people's experiences and connecting them to our own, we realize we are never alone.
And on the flip side, when we become more comfortable sharing what's on our mind, even when we think it doesn't matter- for example, at the grocery store, at work, or anywhere we come across strangers- we will gain trust in the unknown and recognize that every person we encounter is worth a human connection, even if it only lasts a few seconds, because we never know the impact we leave with them and how they will impact us.
It's up to us to build community in the mundane, anywhere we meet people, even when we just listen to each other.
Share your love. Our human existence depends on it. 💕
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