'unpicking and unpacking'
‘never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world’ margaret mead.
i’m intrigued by communities and their depths. ive been in many. i hear about them a lot.
‘come together as a community’; ‘take action as a community’; ‘find your community’; ‘make your community work’.
lots of examples flood my daily psyche and much of what i read mentions them frequently. predominantly they speak glowingly with many references to their passion and impact. but why are ‘communities’ so key?
i think it’s a call to unite in these challenging times. rebels with a cause encouraged to come together and ‘rise up’. be seen, be heard. take action.
i want to write something about communities that unpacks and unpicks them, in an honest way, and exposes their richness, simplicity and beauty. to give a view on how it might feel to be part of, belong to and participate in.
communities must grow from the start and be built by people to be effective. friendship is the lynchpin. a central theme that runs through them all. if people don't get along communities won't work. i suggest the keys of these bonds can be drilled down to three things; mutual trust, support and understanding. if these aren't present and practiced you won't have well functioning friendships and i don't think you have a foundation for a community of action.
people come together in communities and need to do the ‘work’. it may not be a general understanding and belief of the work concept but their actions, collaboratively and mutually, get stuff done
they put forward ideas
relive experiences
and bring resources, knowledge and skills to the table
all in the hope that they can achieve more together than apart as a lone voice.
my experience of community, and the things i’ve read, talked about and heard, moves me to believe that we are galvanised by each other in ‘collective inspiration’. our community hopes to achieve things by unity and an energised sense of common purpose. this mindset, groupthink - or however you would want to describe it - is a call for action. its motivational and works to inspire passionate members to reach their own full potential.
the essence is community is so much more than a group of people who live in the same area or go to the same places. its alive and breathes as a living organism thats made up of individuals; their wants and desires. they come together bound by shared values and beliefs and want to affect change, create impact and make positive improvement in the world without limitation.
Interesting and very thought provoking..... liking your style brother
Deep! I'm equally intrigued by communities. Their diversity, strength, power! but also the breadth of the term itself