Community

Community involves people coming together to enjoy life, socialising, learning and developing, expressing concerns, tackling social issues, as well as experiencing spiritual and emotional aspects of life. Culture and participation will flourish if given the right environment and sufficient resources. Individuals relate to one another forming social groups and communities of interest. These experiences not only benefit themselves but also their families, neighbourhoods, and society.

Communities may include families and friends; religious and ethnic groupings; cultural activities involving arts, hobbies, sports and other interests; life cycle events and festivals. Those involved can develop friendships and feel part of something greater than just them living in isolation. This encourages social cohesion around common  interests, positive thinking, confidence and creating better ways of finding and experiencing meaning in life. New opportunities and challenges can be tackled with others.

Community activities can be age specific or intergenerational. They develop within social, political contexts, and can involve grassroots activities, schools and clubs, regular sessions and ad hoc events, as well as including experts, practitioners and decision-makers.

I feel humbled and fortunate that over the years I have participated in the development of several community organisations in my local neighbourhood and beyond. I had opportunities to use my skills, knowledge and experience to bring people together to share dreams and create new organisations and opportunities to enhance their lives. Participating has given me much joy and happiness as well as experiencing challenges and feeling frustrated at times. I have contributed to ensure people’s voices get heard  so they receive a fairer share of resources. Together, we have created organisations and physical spaces that meet our needs and aspirations. Most importantly, the organisations and spaces have sustained themselves and developed over the years as new generations take on leadership roles.

I now support some community activities as an advisor. I continue to ‘see what life brings‘ and try and share my passion and enthusiasm.

There are global and national issues affecting everyone’s future and some of them will have negative effects on communities. The only hope is that everyone of goodwill can live positively and have meaningful lives for themselves, their families, communities and for future generations and want to find peace and contentment rather than be inward-looking, selfish and narrow-minded.

 Towards a more peaceful world!