Community for joy
the key to the high notes of life - Andrea Gibson
"Did you know that throughout the world, every study, every culture, says community is the vital key to joy. To hit the high notes of what it means to be alive, you need a back-up band you. can count on."
~Andrea Gibson
Andrea had such wisdom.
I have read some version of the above, in countless versions.
Not always written or literature or delivered as beautifully as the poets do -
But, it’s accurate.
Dr. Brene Brown says we’re hard-wired for connection.
My Mennonite faith says we are here to help each other, walk the mile and bear the load - to weep when others weep, and cry when others cry.
Science researchers remind us of how important community is -
We heal in community.
We also bear the physical and mental consequences on our bodies and lives if we fail to have community.
They say that the opposite of having community - being lonely, and isolation, lead to not only depression or feelings of sadness-
But having no community increased risks of developing the following: Alzheimers, Dementia, heart attack or cardiovascular issues, stroke, diabetes, decreased immunity and even premature death, even higher cholesterol.
Loneliness is serious shit. The antidote is community.
I recall when my mother lived with her good friend, Joanne, both with grown kids and divorced (or separated) from husbands.
I remember Joanne telling me that after she got her bloodwork done, it had much improved since after my mother moved in.
I don’t think my mother traced that or observed it like Joanne did.
But I have no doubt that it was the same.
She was happier, lighter. I never heard her laugh so much.
Community takes better care of us, and it helps us to heal.
As we grow more and more isolated, with the ease of technology, the constant companion of our pocket computers, watching videos and scrolling posts rather than participating in life -
As we rely only on our faux community, let us remember -
We need other people.
Some of you will scrunch up your faces now.
The introverts.
And I get it - sometimes I don’t like other people either.
But you don’t have to like all people.
You need to form your community.
That’s where the magic happens - not just for them, but for you too.
Right down to your physical health -
Again, shattering that illusion of the mind-body binary.