One of Us! The Power of Community
A true community is an incredible thing!
We can all do things solo - go camping, ride a bike, garden, create something, or other activities. We can do these pretty much any time we want. We get the benefits of exercise, time in nature, and a break from everyday stresses. An we can practice to build up our skills an knowledge over time too. This is so good for us.
Go solo, or in a small group - you can always choose your adventures, so you don’t have to give up one for the other.
The point of this post is to build on this. Doing things as a group can be richer than solo. And, a community can bring so much more beyond.
In a community, we have:
a circle of trust, a feeling of belonging
curiosity about each other, empathy, and an opportunity help each other
an incredible body of knowledge, and people willing to share - this is rocket fuel for learning!
an opportunity to be part of something bigger than ourselves
established norms and expectations that are positive, and supportive of everyone
more givers acting in the common good, than takers acting selfishly
a practice of often celebrating one another
the psychological safety to disagree, respectfully, about ideas and still value each other
our sacred place as a peer and equal in the community
A stalwart group braving a snowstorm at Killbear in January
The community is often an important path to forming the smaller groups. We meet for the first time, and make lifelong friends a lot easier with a community. Community helps us “find our peeps”. As we build our skills and knowledge, we become even more confident when we’re solo.
I want to stress a couple of these.
Trust makes the world go round. If we don’t trust one another, very little happens. And what does happen is expensive in terms of trying to figure out if it’s safe to do. The community circle of trust is amazing. If I trust you, and you trust someone else… that signals to me that it’s reasonably safe for me to trust them as well. Over time, this circle of trust grows and strengthens.
If people agree to the norms and expectations of the community everyone is welcome, as the minimum. The community goes beyond this - you can also be included, cherished, and celebrated. There are few things that feel quite as good as being celebrated for who you are, and how you have shown up in a community.
The community has an incredible body of knowledge built up over time. Being able to tap into this is a huge benefit. The interactions in the community are a really wonderful way to acknowledge community elders who are generously giving with all the things they have learned.
Similarly, if you had a really bad experience, and are willing to share it, we all benefit from knowing to avoid that without the same cost. A healthy community helps protect us from people who might be harmful, or operating in bad faith, or trying to take from people. A healthy community has many more givers than takers. The takers stand out, and they feel pressure to shift their behaviour, or move on.
I want to wrap up by contrasting something. As it’s easy to confuse the two.
There are fantastic individuals out there building their brand, and sharing their knowledge in various ways such as YouTube, and other social media. I celebrate them, I learn from them, I support them, and admire them. I do want to distinguish these wonderful people from a community. They will very likely be part of various communities too.
A healthy community is far more than any individual. Over the long term, the community will be there, a timeless benevolent space, offering tremendous benefits to more and more people. This is what Ripples and Leaves is, and why am passionate about the things I get to do in service of the community.
