Finding Our Way Back to Community

There really is something remarkable about reconnecting with an old friend, the kind of friend you haven’t seen in years, where time and distance should have created a gap too wide to bridge. And yet, when you finally sit down together, the conversation flows as effortlessly as it did the last time you spoke. That’s what happened to me when I recently caught up with a friend I hadn’t seen in about five years. Life had pulled us in different directions. Quite literally, in her case, as she’d spent a fair amount of that time on the other side of the world. But now she was back in Chicago, drawn in part by a sense of community she found here.

Her return, and the emphasis she placed on community, got me thinking. About the role it plays in our lives. About why it matters. About how easy it is to take it for granted. Until we need it. And lately, it feels like we all need it more than ever.

We’re living in challenging times, no doubt. That phrase gets thrown around a lot, but there’s a reason for it. It seems there’s a growing sense of disconnection, isolation, and fragmentation. In these moments, community isn’t just a nice idea. It becomes a necessity. It provides stability and belonging. It reminds us that we’re not alone in whatever we’re going through. It reassures us that someone will show up for us, and that we, in turn, can show up for others.

There’s social science behind this as well. Studies suggest that having a strong sense of community can increase happiness and even contribute to longevity. It turns out that shared experiences, common values, and mutual support do more than just make us feel good. They also sustain us. They give us purpose. They give us reasons to connect with one another in ways that are deeper than just transactional interactions.

But community isn’t something that just exists on its own. It’s something we have to actively cultivate. It requires participation, effort, and an openness to both give and receive support. It can be built in a neighborhood, in a workplace, among friends, or even among people who share the same passions. It doesn’t have to be large or formal. It just has to be real.

So, as I reflect on my friend’s homecoming and my own relationship with community, I find myself wondering what community means to others, and how community shows up in others’ lives. Community isn’t just about where we are. It’s about who we choose to show up for, and who shows up for us.