I recently saw a post on Facebook about how we can’t rely on having a village because they don’t exist. It made me sad that this was posted by a young mom and reflected a lot of struggles that new parents, the elderly, the disabled, and many others feel daily. Loneliness is such an epidemic so large other countries have entire divisions to work to combat it. In so many ways, we are more informationally connected than ever before, and it feels like we are more emotionally disconnected than many past generations. What does it take to build the village that we are missing? What does that village even look like?
Last week I shared the very special things about this community I live in. Things that make it a really nice place to live. Those special things don’t happen by accident they are often by design. One thing I will say is we can still do better. A village is built not just by the people in it taking but by them giving back. We have amazing people that run committees, councils, meetings, planning boards, and volunteers to make it work. There are a fair number of us that are in different organizations and give a lot of time and dedication to these things. Volunteer burnout happens sometimes. To create the village we want, we must show up and give back on top of asking for what we need. This summer, the Minneapolis Rec Commission really worked hard to bring an abundance of activities for kids, and our Markley Grove Park Friends work on bringing community events at the park. Those that volunteer do great things and our communities need people to give back and show up. These activities help to build a village because it takes us out of behind our screens and out of our houses. It puts us directly in contact with the people we live with. We reconnect. It becomes much harder to be divisive when you know that easy words online are to your neighbor. We get to know the people around us, how they are different, and how we are similar. Community is built in bigger events like the many we have here and in so many small ways. The ability to know you can ask for an emergency cup of sugar or the people that will be there for you if you need them.
Community is not a spectator sport! Show up often! Give as much as you can in ways you can, big and small! Ask questions and be curious about those around you.