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Where do you get your sense of community and belonging from?
I watched this talk with David Brooks and I was blown away. It was an eloquent talk with strong words on how we need to find our sense of community again at a variety of levels (local to national).
So I'm curious, what communities are you involved in? If you don't have a sense of belonging, where would you like to belong?
I suppose online communities would count, but I think the point is to have away-from-keyboard interactions because of the additional layers of intimacy.
I've also heard Brooks talk about this and despite usually not having much to agree with him on (I'm a little to the left of Shields hehe) found his points really ring true. A good related read is Sebastian Junger's book Tribe. I also recommend this short article Death of the Neighborhood Bar For a lot of reasons I think this matters - mental health and quality of life/satisfaction being the biggest ones.
This isn't a community but I'm fresh enough out of school to still have group of friends brought together over years of studio design struggles. So I lean on those relationships. Lately I'm more interested in strengthening the long term relationships that I find myself having for the first time in my life.
I'm also a regular customer at a couple lunch spots and a bar near my work which is new for me. Finding new spots is great and I love trying new things. But there is something special about being on a first name basis and getting a hey how are ya when you walk in a place.
As for the national level, I've pretty much disengaged from national politics since it's basically a circus owned an operated by corporate elites and described by sensational corporate media - though I do enjoy a bit of geopolitics. The time I would have spent on those things I now devote to city politics. If you're a Chicagoan I recommend Ben Joravsky who has a podcast for the Sun-Times and Reader.
I think local news and local politics is much more rewarding and empowering when national politics are defeating and infuriating. The fact that the figures in it are for the most part people I can actually meet and talk to if I would like (despite being in a big city) is something I didn't anticipate appreciating so much.
All this comes down to "where do I get a sense of community from?" My answer is, I get it from being from and of somewhere. I can see the appeal of seeing adventure and new challenges in a different city. But I like having roots. I like knowing the nooks and crannies, the off-the-beaten-path gems, the history of places, and not least of all the best way to get around. I like seeing familiar faces. In fact just this morning on the train I bumped into a friend I went to high school and college with that I met playing AYSO soccer.
None of this amounts to belonging to a community like you would with a church or elementary school. But I am starting to get there. I think I would like to begin that by volunteering at this circular economic incubator called The Plant Chicago but it's hella far. Maybe I'm making some assumptions about the culture there, but if there were a place I'd like to belong it's there.
I don't feel much of any sort of community and belonging these days. As a person who grew up in California, I used to feel the most attachment to the West Coast, but unfortunately that changed when my family moved to Texas, and I haven't had much reason to go back (I lost all my friends when I moved and I don't talk to my extended family).
I'll hazard a guess and say that I just feel most connected to humanity as a whole, as cheesy as that sounds.
I guess there bar fly community, if anything. Y'know, people looking for an escape.
Otherwise, my family.