When at the airport (waiting of course) you see people glued to their smartphones, tablets or laptops, the only interaction you receive is with the check-in desk and the TSA. Uugh. What happened to our sense of belonging? Of wanting to converse with each other? It’s almost as if we are afraid to communicate to an actual person. This situation actually made me quite sad. Where is our sense of Community? How can we bring it into our lives?

Growing up I had a pretty good sense of community due to my religious upbringing. Not to say all “sense of community” has to stem from a religious background, that is just my experience with it. As an adult I have found it harder and harder to keep my sense of community intact. People go off to college, get married, have kids etc… so the community you build up in your youth slowly gets smaller and smaller.

In addition to having the people you hold dear move away from you, the preferred means of communication is through text, e-mail or social media. Relying on these means of communication leads to a loss of connection. There is something to be said about hearing someone’s voice or being able to see facial expressions and actually having a good conversation with someone face to face.

Why does community help you?

With society leading such busy and technologically based lives, it can leave you feeling isolated and lonely, even leading to depression. Having a sense of belonging can help you lead a happy and healthy life.

A strong community can provide.

1. A sense of belonging and Responsibility– Feeling that we are part of a greater good helps us to live our life more fully and purposefully. Having a sense of belonging keeps us from isolating and going down a lonely path. Being a part of a community also creates a sense of responsibility and willingness to make sacrifices for the collective whole. In turn this creates a character of integrity, compassion and strength.

2. Support and Fulfillment of Needs– Knowing that you have a support network in place to call upon when life throws a curve-ball at you is a liberating feeling! To know you don’t have to handle everything on your own. Support creates trust in each other and provides the power to tackle any of life’s issues.

3. Strength in numbers and Influence– In any avenue, whether it be personal, family related, social etc… having the advantage of support from a community can supercharge any situation by giving you the collective confidence to go out and conquer!

Read more… Indentifying Concepts That Build A Sense Of Community, 4 Factors That Create A Sense Of Community

5 Ways to bring More Community into your Life

1. Get to know your neighbors– This is by far the easiest way to get started, all you have to do is step out your front door and walk only a couple of steps to reach your community. If you’re the baking kind you could bring cookies (mmm…cookies). If baking is not your thing, then just introducing yourself is a great start!

2. Find your Neighborhood Association– A Neighborhood Association will provide you all the community events you can ask for, as well as any improvements needed and/or important political matters. If your community is lacking a Neighborhood association, perhaps you can be the first to start your own!

3. Volunteer– Volunteer with your church or city to do a service project. Not only is service doing a good deed but it is also extremely rewarding on a personal level. I recently participated in a service project for the Women and Family Shelters and it was a great experience. It allowed me to serve those in need and as a bonus I met some really wonderful people in my community! Go to volunteermatch.org , all you have to do is type the city you live in and what you care about and voila! Volunteer opportunities at your fingertips! Really a great site!

4. Check out meetup.com– Meetup provides a medium to find like-minded people and connect them to do the things they love! Their tag line reads “Neighbors getting together to learn something, do something, share something”. Meetup has everything from cycling and hiking groups, musicians, wine enthusiasts and more!

5. Take a break from technology! – Let’s face it, we all need a break from our smartphones, iPad’s, and laptops. Set aside time to connect with the people who matter most in your life. Instead of texting why not call? Or instead of calling your neighbor, why not visit? Connecting with each-other is ultimately what we as humans are made to do. Take a risk and talk to someone at the airport, you never know what may come in your path.

Find your community!

Now, I am by no means perfect in my own search for community, but I am challenging myself every day to find the perfect balance for my life. I challenge you, my readers, to go introduce yourself to your neighbors, talk to someone at the airport, coffee shop or a co-worker who you may not know, the sky’s the limit! Another part of your community is your friends! Take the time to reach out to them more often, perhaps set up a lunch date and make it a point to keep your technology use to a minimum or don’t use it at all.

Take the time to breathe… relax… and enjoy the people and community surrounding you!

Life’s too short to spend it glued to an inanimate object, open up your world of community and find people and purpose you did not know existed!

Live with grace, love and purpose!