We all live in communities. To some of us, sometimes, this may be apparent. At other times it may not look like we are part of a community at all. In reality, the individual and the community are interdependent entities and both always exist wherever one of them does.
When you walk in the morning, you may walk alone but you are part of a community of walkers in your neighbourhood. There is opportunity for you to work on yourself and an oft missed opportunity for your community of morning walkers to do good for your neighbourhood, your city, even the world itself. You do not necessarily have to get together for this. If each of you involves yourselves in actions that add up as a community, the result of all your efforts will be far greater than the sum of individual contributions. This is a conscious community. It exists where an individual does.
A conscious community is a benevolent circle where every part empowers every other and growth occurs at all levels and in all virtuous directions.
Likewise a school may be a community of learners. A school may act in its self-interest and, like any community, may take actions directed solely at ensuring its own survival. But this does little for the individuals that make up the community. The community will thrive but its individuals become replaceable. A conscious community, on the other hand, sees its actions both from a large-scale perspective and from the perspective of its individuals. Every action taken at the upper levels shall positively impact individuals. This will in turn positively impact the community itself.
A conscious community is where individuals are driven by conscious choices built upon good intentions. Individual growth contributes to the community and community growth spurs the individual. There is a concerted effort to listen to one another, to accept differences, to show mutual respect and empathy. In a conscious community we help one another grow, we remain non-judgemental, we are authentic but tactful and unfiltered but decent. In a conscious community, unity arises from diversity. Diversity makes a community holistic and rich; and a conscious community keeps relationships authentic, makes space for engagement offline and online, and strikes a balance across all aspects of a full life.
Join Avidfolk in building conscious communities through education, mental health and culture. Follow our work, collaborate, listen to our podcasts and more on_ avidfolk.com _and follow us on social media—we’re @avidfolk on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Facebook and LinkedIn.