Tuesday 21 December 2010

Communities who support each other

Two weeks ago on Saturday  there was an unexpected death.  Graham, a man who lived in our small very close community. The news travelled quickly and everyone came together to support each other.
It was a community in mourning. A community that cried together and shared their food and ate all their meals together for the remainder of the weekend, so that no one would be alone and feel overwhelmed by the shock and subsequent grief.
A community that travelled to the funeral together, and then celebrated Graham's life with  tears and laughing and dancing to  the music that he most loved, remembering a man who had been generous and kind and had lived every minute of his 57 years and will continue to live in the community because he is, and will always be, remembered with love.
Dawn is going home and sent a text of thank you to all who supported her through her crisis.  A different community spread out over a wider area, but who sustained her with practical help and ‘very real kindness’ so that she could concentrate all her energy on getting strong enough to fight the blood disorder that threatened her life.
We are stronger when we stand together.  The benefits of a social group are well documented. Isolation brings loneliness and loneliness brings depression and the downward spiral that accompanies it.
Reaching out to each other is a win win situation. Building a small community whatever that means to you, can only reap benefits. And you never know when you may need to access its' strength.


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