The past few years of life have opened many eyes to the importance of community. But most of the talk about community is about getting together and sharing space.
Making more time to be in the same physical vicinity as others, getting together and having a potluck or having some drinks at a party.
Lots of people have the mindset of “I know you and we share x thing in common and so now we are a community.” That is a social connection, but that isn’t a very valuable community.
There is a quote from Six Pillars by Nathaniel Brandon that always stood out to me:
“The union two abysses does not produce a height.”
Nathaniel Branden
In the same way, the union of 5 or 10 or 20 abysses does not produce a height or a community worth being a part of.
A strong community is one that is composed of strong individuals, with skills and resources, who have shared experience and have faced challenges together. And so, a better path towards building a community is building a better version of yourself and creating value for the people around you.
Get fit, deal with your shit, build a business, and look to be of value to the people that you meet.
If, instead of being slightly above broke and going to community events, you made 10 times more money–enough that you could make impactful donations to community organizations and contribute time and money at church–would that not lead to a stronger community?
Community is very important, but it can also be a distraction from the hard and necessary work of becoming a better person.
Healthy and resourceful people from very different backgrounds can work together to accomplish a lot of valuable things. If you’re not healthy and you don’t have resources, then community should not be your top priority.
Take care of yourself, then your family, and then worry about meeting and connecting with new people.
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