Community – The We
It is just 9:00 a.m. and already this morning I have had at least four reminders health care is a community event and process. One reminder was from a friend who is a doctor and who is excited about his new job. He says “a healthy community is more powerful than a few healthy individuals.” Another reminder came from another friend “S” who is in recovery for addiction. He is excited that a long-time friend of his is, with support, beginning the road to recovery. S’s example and amazing ability and willingness to support others in their growing/healing journey is, I am sure, a significant factor in his friend taking these steps towards reclaiming his life. Yet another example was a report I heart on NPR while at the gym about the results of new research that shows that mountain lions are far from the lone animals they were thought to be. They connect with each other to not only procreate but to share food.
My son’s mother recently fell and fractured a hip. Our son was not able to travel to be her advocate,but friends did step up to help and support her.
I could name many more examples of what we already know about the necessity of community and the devastating affects of being isolated – being without a “we”. Obviously the extent of community which all of us need varies. There are those who function well with a significant amount of alone time or living with other animals in the wild. Yet, my experience is that even those individuals need a “we” – perhaps a smaller “we” but a “we” none the less.
In my belief system, we are part of a much larger, interconnected we of the universe(s). All the parts of all systems are essential for the system to function. When any of us does anything to disconnect ourselves or others from that whole, the whole suffers.
Today I am grateful for all the reminders that all that I do today will affect the whole. No matter how much I might, at times, feel like an island I am not alone.
Written October 12, 2017
It is just 9:00 a.m. and already this morning I have had at least four reminders health care is a community event and process. One reminder was from a friend who is a doctor and who is excited about his new job. He says “a healthy community is more powerful than a few healthy individuals.” Another reminder came from another friend “S” who is in recovery for addiction. He is excited that a long-time friend of his is, with support, beginning the road to recovery. S’s example and amazing ability and willingness to support others in their growing/healing journey is, I am sure, a significant factor in his friend taking these steps towards reclaiming his life. Yet another example was a report I heart on NPR while at the gym about the results of new research that shows that mountain lions are far from the lone animals they were thought to be. They connect with each other to not only procreate but to share food.
My son’s mother recently fell and fractured a hip. Our son was not able to travel to be her advocate,but friends did step up to help and support her.
I could name many more examples of what we already know about the necessity of community and the devastating affects of being isolated – being without a “we”. Obviously the extent of community which all of us need varies. There are those who function well with a significant amount of alone time or living with other animals in the wild. Yet, my experience is that even those individuals need a “we” – perhaps a smaller “we” but a “we” none the less.
In my belief system, we are part of a much larger, interconnected we of the universe(s). All the parts of all systems are essential for the system to function. When any of us does anything to disconnect ourselves or others from that whole, the whole suffers.
Today I am grateful for all the reminders that all that I do today will affect the whole. No matter how much I might, at times, feel like an island I am not alone.
Written October 12, 2017
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