Community

So many people I see feel really lonely. Did people always feel this way? Back in the old days were people lonely as well? The internet says no for many reasons, one of them being itself!

If you’re lonely, do you think it’s hopeless or that you can do something about it? Do you have a belief that you have control over some things in your life or not? It may require a little self-talk for sure but at least you’re in control of your attitude, good or bad, positive or negative.

Seems like back in the day we had more communities to belong to and that helped. Perhaps we had a stronger sense of belonging to this country (whether we adopted it or not) and a stronger identity from clubs, organizations, religious groups, political groups, cultural identities, etc. Oh my! There were plenty of things and ideas we could use to define us and help us feel included.

That sense of belonging  probably also made us feel strong. Being part of something can feel powerful and good. It also kind of anchors us, helps us feel in place and secure. Of course, sometimes we don’t want to be held in place, maybe we want to rebel, we want to fly!

BUT, then maybe over time, we kind of threw out the baby with the bathwater (old saying about getting rid of bad stuff and by mistake getting rid of the good stuff along with it). Maybe in trying to fly free we also let go of the things that helped us stay connected, feel like part of a community. Maybe.

Here’s another old saying, “if you want to make a friend, be a friend”. So you can go back to being a part of a community, part of something bigger, by going back to one or some of the groups above or volunteering to be helpful to others, Or being courteous, holding the door open, getting things off of the top shelf for people, that kind of thing.

In the end, we’re all in this together anyway, we’re all part of the world the way it is now, for better or for worse. Why not help someone else who’s lonely too? Being a part of something bigger is community.                   

What are you doing?