Transforming a Culture of Solitude

Over the years we have been living in a culture of me. Blame industrialization? We have become a “me- centered” society which only in turbulent times seem to come together. Isn't it tragic that only tragedy can bring us together? We have forgotten the basis of what brought us here in the first place; community and belonging. Instead we strive for more, more of everything but what really matters. We have all been victims of that sickness that has turned us into lonely beings in search of something we can’t seem to figure out.

Being an optimist as I am, I still believe there’s hope and in recent years something has been changing, hidden, softly, imperceptible at times but there. Could it be that we don’t want to be lonely anymore, that we are remembering that in a loving community life sprouts and flourish? There are always ways to improve, to bring back what we once felt as lost but there’s only one way to do it and that is precisely together. How to bring up that change that deep inside we are craving for? If you look closely, you will realize that the following applies to all areas of life. It takes courage, an open mind, and the desire to make meaningful changes but then again, what kind of life would we be living without change? I believe we all deserve a try.

1. As an individual, become a server. Serve as a guide or mentor to others in their journey. Nourish that teacher-student relationship where both grow and learn.

2. Be present, fully present; listen, support, and encourage.

3. Open the door to self-reflection and help others do the same by communicating in an honest and transparent way.

4. Listen to the stories. We all have our own and all are worth sharing. Stories weave our past, present and future. We are those stories and from them we create new ones that could either benefit or impoverish us.

5. Discover the values that guide you and those around you. Focus on those which would bring a better scenario for all to share. Pass them on and you will have inherited a better place for new generations.

6. Learn to acknowledge and accept differences for they enrich everyone’s life. It is time to leave behind the old beliefs that brought us here. What can you learn from other people? How could that learning could empower the community as a whole?

7. Learn to speak in a common language; the language of understanding, compassion, and empathy.
Nelson Mandela once said: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head but If you talk to him in his language that goes to his heart.” Maybe the solution has been there all the time; speak the language of the heart and reach them all and finally change from me to us. In the end, if you look inside and deeply think about it maybe you will come to the same conclusio
I have come to; we are here for the same reason; to learn and to live with unconditional love for ourselves and others.