Community – The Vital Ingredient of Life

Whether you are a total introvert or a life of the party extrovert, or somewhere in the middle; having a good community around you is a vital aspect of your life if you are striving to thrive! The almost hibernating introvert still needs a great community around them to help empower and inspire them to greater heights, and to in turn, pour themselves into.

Go back a few decades and you would find perhaps a more true definition of what a neighbourhood community looks like. This community of people who firstly actually know each other personally, which led to helping each other and supporting each other, as a natural part of life almost like breathing if you like. In rural areas of developing countries you can still find evidences of these strong communities!

What is “Community”?

Community is where people support and look out for each other, in effect treating each other as cherished family! Community is tribe mentality, where people look out for each other and care for each other in practical ways. The Living Oxford Dictionary states that community is, “A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.” <https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/community>

The above definition states that community is both location and ideal based or either of the two. This very much fits in with what community is to us now – very much a global reality as opposed to our immediate location. In fact I think how infrequently I catch up with my neighbours, and know many people who share my experience!

Due to the Internet and social media platforms and connections, the world is smaller…we are able to stay daily (and far more frequently if desired) in contact through video calls, messaging and of course the old standard of a phone call; and with minimal expense! I know so many people now who have their really close friends on the other side of the world, and they are able to remain updated with the intricate details of their lives!

Let’s Get Personal

What is community to you? Is it more about location and proximity? Or is the world your neighbourhood? Maybe something in between the two? The next thing to consider is, what does your ideal community look like? If you are already living in that reality, congratulations that is fantastic! If not, that’s ok too because the future can hold a positive light for you…actually, TODAY can hold a positive light for you – the change begins with mindset!

The ideal community for me is one which picks me up and one in which I help others to rise up… any place where people are lifted up, and taken to a positive space of support is a community which is going to thrive, and is a most beautiful thing to be involved in!

How is this achieved? Like mindedness is a good place to start, but it’s not enough, there has to be an agreed protocol which is believed in, and because people believe so much in it, they own up straight away if they step away from it. Easy to say but not easy to find for many of us!

It is an ideal certainly held by many church groups which I have been involved in, but seldom upheld… and I have been as guilty as anybody of lowering the standard! Now, I’m not in any way referring to perfection (whatever anyone’s view of that is), I’m talking about a support mentality which empowers people to grow and thrive, as opposed to feel harshly judged and put down!

When I have been involved in communities where this support mentality and reality is achieved, a big part of the reason is a strong goal which everyone is on board with achieving! When people are focused on achieving something significant together, there is less reason for them to lose focus on what matters which largely is supporting each other in a powerful and positive way!

The opposite is very often true… when there is no clear focus or goals the community breaks down.

You Are The Beginning

The beginnings of a beautiful community start within… if you and I choose to be people whom others want to be around because they feel supported and embraced – loved, then a gravity field will be created, and people will move towards us and know that they are safe within the community we have drawn them into.

It is quite remarkable how many people will cling to a community for years even though they continue to be abused by it! So how much more will people be willing to stay within a community which supports and builds them up!

I have become part of an amazing community which on the surface is a Digital Marketing Academy, however in actuality is a group of people who serve and build each other up, along with incredible mentoring on empowering and up skilling your mind and way of thinking! The product of the work of this community is a sea of people who are inspired and empowered to go and serve the greater community in which they choose to plant themselves!

If this is something which resonates and a spark has ignited within you, great – I would be most happy to connect more with you (add your details and “subscribe”) and find out where you are at and if I can help you moving forward! If you are not too inspired by the above thoughts and concepts, great – I am not at all interested in the “hard sell”, I am about helping people find their calling, and this is definitely not for everybody! I am learning to care more about what people/you need, rather than pour my agenda over everyone as though I have all the answers!

Community is something which I am convinced we all need…what type of community you need is something for you to figure out. I hope to catch up with you soon…be intentional about your life and be a giver!