Community
I’ve always been a ‘bit of a loner’. I’m not sure if that’s how I thought of myself, or the label others gave me. In any case, it was true, or became true. Bullied at school, beaten at home and with no real friends - until I was sent to a local uniformed organisation - I was more than a ‘bit’ of a loner. I never took to the uniform at the Girl’s Brigade - always too much of a rebel - but it was my first positive experience of community. It was more than simply a group I turned up to for a specific activity. It became something that shaped me - for good and for bad. And I made friendships there that have lasted over 50 years.
Communities can be any group of people with shared interests, but in its deepest sense it goes beyond the usual activity in common and becomes a melting pot where ideas are shared. There is an exchange, rather than a one-way transaction.
During the lockdown virtual communities evolved. Groups who had met socially were forced to go on line. Whilst ‘Zoom’ may not have been the ideal medium for friendship and support, in the absence of ‘the real thing’ it was the best we had and for many it became a lifeline. I took part in writing groups and poetry groups, amongst others, enthusiastic in a way I’m not usually when having to join in. Some of those communities continued after the lockdown; people met up and friendships were forged. For a while, we valued each other and our new sense of community in the face of a shared threat and shared loss.
I’m lucky to live in a small community, where people know each other’s names, always say hello and still look out for each other. I’m also part of a writing community and an eco group - which has strong sense of identity, purpose and collaboration - a little community of eco-warriors. I’ve not been so immersed in people-focused activity since I was a community outreach worker and I value the benefits that these mini communities can bring.
As a self-employed cook, writer and painter, life can be an isolated affair and living in the Highlands can make you feel remote, so it’s strange that, although I do feel alone from time to time, I also feel more connected, more part of a community - various communities - than I have at any other time in my life.
Given our globals connections and our shrinking resources, it’s more important than ever that we act as a world-wide community; that we work to break down the barriers that divide us, together, for the global good. We are facing a shared threat and we all have a vested interest in our survival as a species. Governments have failed us and will continue to do so. In my humble opinion, it is the power of communities uniting that will see positive change: for the climate, the human race and, hopefully, for peace.