We are meant to heal in a community. Our need for one another is both our greatest vulnerability and our greatest strength.Healing works best when solutions are culturally strong, developed and driven at the local level.
Community. Connection. Fellowship. Wherever we find healing we find these, and wherever we find these we find healing.
“Anything that promotes a sense of isolation often leads to illness and suffering, while that which promotes a sense of love and intimacy, connection and community, is healing.”
(Dr Dean Ornish)
Healing community is not about putting our problems off on another person, but about having an opportunity to set down the weight we’re carrying for a while, and sometimes it’s even about letting others hold and share our weight while we do the same for them.
At the same time, though,not all community or communal time is healthy and healing.Sometimes being around other people is not as recharging and some of us actually need time away from other people in order to find healing or calm. Knowing this is a fundamental self-awareness. But, while too much time around others is draining and far from communal care, too much time alone can also further feelings of isolation and stagnation.
When everything in the world is tough, we have the power to take care of each other.
The community we live in is part of who we are. Even if we don’t see our neighbors every day, we recognize that the decisions we make impact those around us. We are all in it together, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Chronic metabolic diseases, such as diabetes,hypertension,heart disease, cancers, stroke and declining brain function can also increase if a community’s overall well-being is suffering. The emotional pain of social isolation, disconnection and loneliness is associated with development of metabolic syndrome. Chronic diseases like these not only impact life expectancy, they have a dramatic effect on overall well being and quality of life .
While we work on improving our overall health and well-being by eating well, by moving our bodies adequately , by getting a good night sleep and by thinking positively, let us become aware of how we relate to others. Let us build and foster connections with the people around us. This can be one of the most powerful tools used to enhance our wellbeing and health as well as that of others. The outreach that we make to another person, whether it’s a stranger or a loved one, is a medicine in and of itself.
Community is that powerful medicine that brings deep deep healing!