Community: the healing potential of group activities

Many of us live in the action of a big city with so much to do and yet manage to feel quite isolated at times, or quite often. With the age of the internet, social media, devices, dating sites, texting etc, etc, we can be in a state of constant connectedness and social activity... yet so many people talk about how alone they feel and how difficult it can be to make new friends or to find a life partner. How can this be? Life has changed so much for the better with easier access and greater convenience, but have we lost something in the process? How can we feel in a state of such connectedness and yet feel so disconnected at the same time? Is there a way to find that old fashioned sense of community, given the fast-paced, full-on lifestyle most of us are living? I mean, what are we all chasing at such a break-neck pace anyway? I think most of us have figured out that accumulating "stuff" delivers a pretty short-lived high, so consumption as a goal probably isn't the answer to long lasting happiness.

So, how do we go about finding a sense of community these days? Good old fashioned dances and such don't seem to exist in the big city anymore. Past high school, and maybe College or University, bars and restaurants seem to have taken over as the local meet-up hang outs, but there's no guarantee of making a real connection in that environment. Beyond that, internet dating and locator-type apps seem to be gaining great popularity right now - and hey, if that's your thing, go for it. Have fun! For those of us who are looking for something a little more old school, there may be something to group activities, like local drop in sport games or classes at local colleges. For the brave souls out there seeking radical change and looking to really get to know people, group work, (i.e. group therapy) can be an incredible way to understand how universal the human experience is and can deliver some potentially ground breaking, long term life changes for the better. Totally novel and unexpectedly cool, if you can get past the first day of school type/peer-pressure or internal resistance type hang-ups.

Blessings,

Chatgirl