Community: A Cure for the Lonely

A community: otherwise a group of people who share common culture and heritage a populace, an alliance, an association, a neighborhood, a district, a society. A dictionary definition is what the population settles for as far as the context where they consider themselves as apart of a community. The word community in the 14th century, had derived from the word “common,” in that time, meaning fellowship in a ‘community’ of relations or feelings. However, the term then became used concretely as to pertain to a body of fellows or townsmen. It is vital though, that the youth involves themselves genuinely in a community, and not assume that they’ve done so simply by physically moving into one. Such a task means a challenge, however, through awareness and inspiration, the benefits of being apart of a community are within reach.

“What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities, in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured,” says American novelist Kurt Vonnegut. In other words, the youth of our culture is holding the power to deplete the loneliness that we all face, and can do so simply by coming together civilly to build an alliance which will in turn be used to battle such loneliness. For example, the teenager wasting his hours at a computer screen in the afternoons could change his and others’ entire outlook by choosing a place in his community to help others, such as volunteering at a shelter, or helping the elderly. This gives him the chance to experience more value in his self-worth, while also benefiting the people around him. Likewise, the braggart spending his energy on creating his own reputation could be using such energy to help...

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.... There’s a chance that this realization will make them feel the desire and capability to be apart of something larger, which contributes to leading a much happier life when being filled with the contributions of others. It's illogical, to feel alone each day when passing hundreds of faces, however, if we acknowledge ourselves as apart of the hundreds of faces, we won’t have to feel so alone.

It is clear, that if the youth can choose to stop wasting time in a superficial reality, while avoiding displaying extents of their ego, long enough to consider their role in the context of the whole, a community could be achieved, and that youth would mentally benefit from contributing to those around them. While it is hard on bitter days to exchange a smile with a stranger, having in mind, that universal compassion is necessary, to lead a life that is free of lonesomeness.