During this holiday week, celebrating our country’s independence and feeling grateful for the sacrifices that people have made for me to feel free and safe, I have thought a lot about community, connection, and collective identity. What does it mean to be a community, to feel a connection and what is a collective identity?
I suppose I can blame this week’s article topic on my own personal feelings of nostalgia. Growing up in Dundalk, I have always had a sense of community. I can’t help but feel connected to the “land of pleasant living”. The heritage fair, the parade, the fireworks evoke a sense of community, connection and collective identity for me as I believe it does for many who live here.
For those who may no longer live here, no matter how much time has passed in seeing old companions, the stories seem to pick up right where they left off. The feeling of closeness is there. The mere act of listening to karaoke and having a beer in the beer garden evokes connectedness. The crazy holiday outfits and outlandish home décor certainly instills a collective identity.
And no matter how much “crap” (no pun intended) has been spewed about Dundalk, the community always seems to pull through and come together. But why should I even think about writing on this topic? Well, as a social worker/therapist, one of the issues I see is estrangement from family/community and the sadness and depression that this can cause. I am constantly reminding clients of the importance of connection in their communities. Isolation can be life-altering.
According to Tereza Hanakova from spaceflow.io, “We are living in the most connected time in human history and yet, many of us feel isolated. Being lonely and being alone is not the same thing. Loneliness is a purely subjective individual experience. The common stereotype is that loneliness only happens to people who do not know how to talk to people or how to behave around others. But loneliness can affect anybody because it is a part of our biology… Whether you like it or not, communities are the most important social units of our life. We can´t thrive in life without good relationships. And this is why communities matter, and they always will be — the sense of belonging is a part of us.”
According to sosillinois.org, “Strong communities are the bedrock of society. Community provides stability, a critical factor that contributes to an individual’s ability to thrive. Community is so essential that the well-being of children and families is directly impacted when they live in strong, stable, inclusive and supportive communities… From the beginning of time, humans have depended on the community for survival… Being part of a community helps people develop a stronger sense of personal and collective identity. It can also boost a person’s self-esteem and willingness to take on the world to make dreams happen.”
In researching the topic, I continued to come across these words: Support, belonging and purpose. The benefits of community are that you can get support and encouragement through hard times; you will have better health from a stronger sense of belonging and security; And you can actually do “self-care” by providing “community care” which could help you find your purpose.
Even though communities change, develop and grow, the truth remains that they are here to stay. Our own “little piece of heaven here” in Dundalk proves that year after year.
Challenge for this week:
Spend time thinking about the groups of people you have around you. Do you feel a sense of community? If so, make efforts to strengthen and appreciate the community you have. If you’re missing a support system around you, consider people you have things in common with and try to connect with them. We all need to remember that asking for help is not a weakness, it is actually a strength.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.