The idea of Community, and my dream of being part of one

In the end, I believe that one of the main reasons we’re here is to feel connection, feel useful and appreciated, and being part of something.

In Sweden we trust the welfare state to take care of us, the unemployed, our children from the age of 3, our elderly, the homeless, the sick, the poor, and the list goes on. What is mine is mine, and yours is yours, and I am already doing my bit for the community by paying taxes. Fine.

But what makes us happy? Numerous studies shows that community is one of the key things that decreases depression and suicide rates, as well as increasing lifespan and happiness. Loneliness is such a common problem in our day and age. My experience of being brought up in a city is that every time you are with someone that is not in your immediate family, you have to go and grab a coffee and sit opposite to each other and talk without interruptions for two hours, with similar intensive socialisation patterns when going to dinner parties or social events. It is nice, but very energy consuming and unspontaneous, making the interaction almost feeling forced and effort-based – could I almost say somewhat fake?

I have a vision of creating a space where a few days a week we have an open house in my home where anyone can drop by after work, to chill, cook food together, read a magazine, help out, bake bread, do crafts, play games, dance, and just be and come as they are. Maybe just for 5 minutes to say hi or 4 hours to hang out. Just sharing space with people without a must or should, just being real and relaxed. Compare to the traditional Swedish culture, where we have issues of hanging out across age differences, social groups and living situations, I dream of having a space where both my mom, a guy I met at yoga, my best friend, the older cat lady next door and someone from my partner’s job could chill in one single space. It may sound idealistic, but I keep that dream close to my heart.

Because I think that deep within, all we crave is connection and to be able to give and receive company from our fellow humans (and maybe a dog or two).