Community Health

I had a recent eye opener that left me a little dazed.

I came to this small community only three years ago. I didn't really know that many people and none of them really well. I had some preconceived idea that the community was responsible for welcoming us and helping us get to know them. This didn't happen.

A friend of mine recently joined an organized religion. This particular community of individuals made my friend and her family feel very welcome and loved especially in their time of great circumstance. It really was little wonder that she and her family are as happy as they are now because they are not alone. They can concern themselves with lifestyle changes and know that they are "looked after", to a certain degree. As a result they are making great changes through hard work but their spirits are high. It may sound corny but I don't know how else to put it.

It is my opinion that all organized religions focus on community. How to coexist in trying and exceptional times. The great epiphany for me was that we, each of us, is responsible for making our own community. I was lost when my husband and I moved out here and I waited for someone (community/town) to find and help us out. What I didn't consider was that I wasn't going to be apart of the whole if I didn't just get out and do something. While I was wallowing I forgot to look after myself and just wallowed.

I mention this today because I have been re-energized by this idea. I am empowered to make greater personal change and I haven't even changed my current community standing, I just want to now. The sole idea that the whole, what ever the whole might be is enough. I find that there is a self importance to community involvement whether the community is a town, a religious group, family or even a large group of close friends. It makes it a little easier to change with a support group. I don't know why but there it is.