community

file:"community"

Community connection to mental health

Community is often a key component of finding meaning in our lives. Without community connection and some sense of belonging to others, we can feel isolated, disconnected, and lacking meaning in our lives. Ultimately, we can find a source of unconditional wellbeing in ourselves that does not depend on the constantly changing outer circumstances, but even this is not disconnected from others. Instead it is so deeply connected to other beings that they are always in our hearts, no matter how physically far we are from them. This is bodhicitta.

Communal living for social and environmental balance

If we can find ways to live together more harmoniously, bouncing back quickly from conflict and using it to inform how we grow together, then we can pool resources and reduce our labor time and enjoy our free time together, creating what’s meaningful to us together.social-healthenvironment

Reminder

Alongside the chaos and politics that inevitably arise in any tightly woven community come the blessings of deep connection, mutual aid and non-separation.

Proactive community creation

Building Community
cultivating places

• Clear communication of expectations, responsibilities
• Bonding activities, joy activities
• Activities to inquire together into shared values
• Co-creation of shared values, expectations, responsibilities
  • What do we all aspire toward for this community?
  • What are we willing to offer? What are we expecting from others?

Building community without othering

How to bring equality/lift up traditionally disadvantaged groups without othering?

Resources & Initiatives

• Othering & Belonging Institute

  The Othering and belonging Institute at UC Berkeley advances groundbreaking approaches to transforming structural marginalization and inequality. We are scholars, organizers, communicators, researchers, artists, and policymakers committed to building a world where all people belong.

• Creating a Flourishing Digital Public Space for Your Local Area

  If you lead a local online group or space — whether that’s a Facebook group for your neighborhood, a Discord server for your city, or something similar — and strive to make it inclusive, uplifting, and public-spirited, this guide is for you.

Challenges in Community

Frustration and burn out

How to work with the frustration that often arises in building, maintaining and being in community? What are some words of wisdom long term community members might share?

Transclude of exhaustion,-inspiration,-and-inviting-the-causes-of-the-paramitas

Managing alone time, privacy, other needs of community members

I love the rhythm of community living, the connectedness, the casual interactions of daily living. At the same time, I’ve discovered that I’m quite a private person, who tends to benefit from some alone time to process each day in my own way. Finding this in the midst of community life can be a big challenge. How to carve out the time, and especially the space, to be alone for a little while? For me, this helps me recharge and refresh so that I am at my best with other community members.

Each person who comes to communal living has their own individual needs, quirks, tendencies. How do we support each of these without asking too much from the community, without leaning beyond our means, our communal resources?
Getting clear on our own needs, communicating them to others, and being patient as we work out solutions for everyone.