The Importance of Community
Is there anything better than a good friend? Yes, there is. A group of great friends!
If you can count on one hand your true friends: friends that would drop anything to be there for you, friends that check in, friends that KNOW your kids, friends that let you unload your struggles and don’t judge you (even if they disagree), friends that you can laugh with and friends that don’t expect you to act a certain way, then count yourself lucky!
Community can mean a few different things but, I like this definition best “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.” And, one of the hardest things for a group like this to endure is when a tragic life event happens to one of the group. It’s an impossible place as a friend to say the right thing because there is nothing that can be said. And, it’s impossible to be the one dealing with the tragedy because not only are you reeling from the event itself but, you immediately feel isolated from the group because you have this big thing happen that cannot be shared nor would you want to share it.
When the proverbial s*@t hits the fan, you need those friends. And, you need those friends to reach out there hand for you without expecting you to reach back. It’s a feeling and a support that is sometimes very vocal and sometimes silent.
These are the people who will just stop by to say hi, will take your kids to the park to give you a break, will check in with you, will bring dinner and words of encouragement, will remind you of funny memories to make you laugh until you can’t breathe and will sacrifice a bit of their own comfort to help you through in your time of need.
So, preserve your friendships. Treat everyone with respect. Don’t judge. And, if a friendship isn’t serving you, i.e.. if someone is disrespectful, judgmental and/ or mean to you, let them go. There is beauty in that. And, what that will do for you long term is that you won’t have to navigate those negativities when all you need is support.
I’ve been very blessed to have some beautiful friends, some of whom joined me on the podcast last year to talk about this very thing. If you’re unclear how you can guide your community to be supportive, listen to that episode because these girls are masters at it. I can only hope I have been there for them as much as they have for me.
Community is what lifts you up when you are down. So, don’t spend too much time in the deep depths of despair. Lean on your community.
