Loneliness can kill. Community heals.
What if positivity and healing were just as contagious as negativity and brutality?
In my last newsletter, I nearly despaired after a three-week visit to the Middle East. Religiously-motivated violence, political polarization, societal factionalism, systemic racism, nuclear threats, and climate devastation. The list went on. Uggh.?
How do we keep the faith—imagining a violence-free world—especially as we watch the spread of hatred and violent conflict, a social disease? Woe to us if we succumb to this contagion or accept it as normal.?
When we lose hope, we risk losing a hunk of our humanity.?
So, how do we keep our faith amidst the heartbreak of inhumanity?
The answer is community. Being and staying together.
Belonging offers immunity from despair
In our modern world, we’ve become cut off from our basic social instinct to belong. More than 1 in 3 adults in the US feels lonely. And loneliness increases the risk of heart disease and stroke by 30%. Social isolation raises the risk of dementia by 50%.?
When we experience trauma, we are tempted to withdraw into our shells, like a tortoise.?
But loneliness is an epidemic. And it will kill us. We must break isolation and reach out.?
In one of the world’s longest studies of adult life, Harvard researchers followed a group of people for 80 years to determine what makes for a long, happy, and healthy life.?
Their answer? Community. Experiencing life together.?
We are inherently social creatures. Before we were capable of starting wars, we first formed groups. Groupism, according to evolutionary biology, offers a survival advantage. Belonging to a community preserves lives. Strong communities allow for the sharing of resources, knowledge, traditions, language, culture, and resilience—the ingredients for a successful society.?
In sum, science is catching up to what Indigenous communities all over the world have known for millennia: being part of a community is good for our health. Staying aligned with nature brings balance and healing.
As humanitarian activists or spiritual changemakers, we must continually celebrate creation and build community. We can’t just focus on what’s “wrong†with the world.?
Without the ingredients of joy, love, and laughter, we risk burnout—falling short of sustaining the positive change we seek.
领英推è
URI’s 25th Anniversary
This month, URI held a community event in the San Francisco Bay Area to celebrate 25 years of interfaith cooperation and impact, inspiring changemakers in more than 110 countries.
After relentless headlines of destruction and political violence, I was reminded of the magic made possible when people come together in the spirit of hope and healing.?
It’s the sound of peace singing out. It’s the sound of freedom ringing out. It combines breaking bread over meaningful conversation with drumming and dancing. On the eve of Juneteenth, friends and supporters came together to enjoy soulful jazz with Grammy award-winning musicians, Regina Belle and Peabo Bryson, accompanied by the Duniya Dance and Drum Company.?
Our wonder-making host, Dr. Oscar Williams, composed and conducted us all in a new anthem for peace, which you can view here.?
His orchestration was inspired by his visit to Israel and Palestine with me in March. Oscar met with interfaith leaders and members of URI Cooperation Circles. We have more than 440 CCs dedicated to ending religiously motivated violence. Their stories reminded us of what is possible when people work together in groups.?
Together, we invited the audience of new friends and URI members to stand strong, to end violence, and to heal together.?
Maybe this vision feels distant, even impossible to many, but I utterly believe in it. And we all felt the pulse and sound of peace ringing out this month. Join us!
The Root of It with Jerry White is a newsletter intended to spur readers to interrupt violence and promote healing in our communities. If you know a friend or colleague who would appreciate this newsletter, please consider forwarding it. That way, we can all become part of the cure.
You can follow along with URI’s work on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, or learn more about URI by visiting www.uri.org/. #WePreventViolence
Dedicated to R&D and Deployment of Clean Fusion and Geo Energy
3 周Summary: “Let there be Responsible Sex on Earth, even at Abraham’s old age!â€â€” the subliminal message in the Genesis and the Qur’an.
Co-founder at Aashwast services, LLP
8 个月Yes, community, belonging, and LOVE is the answer. Everyone wishes to be a part of flourishing communities and there's so much effort that goes in understanding "community building and weaving- strategies to do it". I feel the formula begins with the word "my contribution" to the building. This contribution can begin simply by being present to someone, something, somewhere. Thank you Jerry for sharing this.
AMEN! Preach it brother!
Freelance Writer, Editor, Ghost writer
8 个月Thanks for sharing this. Coincidentally, I am now wearing my "Choose Love" T-shirt - the Buffalo Bills (Sabres and Bandits did it, too) had them made after the racist shooting in Buffalo. I sincerely think the angry/hateful/bigoted people are a minority. They're just louder. The rest of us need to get loud, too, and care for each other.
Strategic Communications, External Relations, Fundraising, Marketing, and Public Affairs Professional. Sustainable living advocate and storyteller.
8 个月Couldn’t agree with you more, Jerry. Thank you for sharing this.