Together We Can Go Further

Together We Can Go Further

Patriots' Day Project: The Importance Of Community http://www.mghclaycenter.org/patriots-day-project/importance-community-connection/

Our ancestors probably knew this better than we do now. We are humans, and humans are social creatures, we need the company and support of our community or family in order to feel complete; and in case we are sick, in order to heal. Ancient tribes got this better than anyone; they included the whole community in their everyday lives and in their healing treatments, to have a sense of support and understanding from the people they trusted. Doctor James S. Gordon explains this in his book Manifesto for a New Medicine, “And the way this was done, and the way I’ve seen it still done in villages in the rain forest and among some of our North American Indians, is for people to get together and get honest with each other, in a safe place and in a special way.” (Gordon, p. 202). We can see that people used to get together and share with their communities in a special way that would be also part of the therapy in case they had any illness. What do we usually do now in cases like that? When someone is ill, we place them alone on a hospital bed or at their house and turn on the TV so that they have something to keep them company. We have all of our time filled with other things to do, that we are slowly losing the habit of being social, even with the people we care about.

It is hard to believe, but we can see it everyday in our own lives. A post in The New York Times by Michael Gonchar called "Does Technology Make Us More Alone?" posts this YouTube video that has already more than 15 million views. I believe it is interesting, and it makes us reflect on what we sometimes do not realize from our daily activities.

"I forgot my phone" on YouTube

As technology grows everyday, we seem to be immersed in more and more devices and seem to miss what is happening in the outside world. We deceive ourselves by thinking we are being social when we use social media like Facebook or Instagram; but the fact is, that these new technologies are just preventing us from stepping out and build real relationships. I am not denying that technology is a useful tool for communication and many other things. Nevertheless, if people rely on technology for everything, even for making friends and keeping company, we are going to live in a silent world soon enough. It is important for us to realize that building community and strong friendships within, is as crucial as eating breakfast every day. Harper Spero, a lifestyle management coach posted in the Huffington Post, “As we get older, we recognize the importance of having friends who are authentic and genuine - people who love, respect and support us.” We can have friends within our community or even in our families, but the truth is that we need to be able to care about people and let them care about us in order to be one more step forward towards happiness. Thereby, we not only need friends when we are ill, we need them all the time and they need us too. It is not important to have a lot of friends, the important part of it is to have quality amongst our friendships. Having a true friendship takes time and effort, and those are the ones that last and the ones that can help us go through the toughest times in our lives as well.      

References:

Gordon, J. S. Manifesto for a New Medicine. Your Guide to Healing Partnerships and the Wise Use of Alternative Therapies. (P. Books, Ed.) United States of America.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harper-spero/the-importance-of-community_b_6978186.html