1% For Community

Do you remember the first month or so or the pandemic last year?

Not the very first whispers that something was happening, but that mid-March oh-$h!t-here-we-go everything going into lockdown time?

(Though, those first whispers looked like our household getting quarantined in February when Justin got exposed at the hospital he’s an ICU nurse in…not so whisper-y as it turned out...)

We were all frantically turning to online support networks to figure out how to maintain our jobs and relationships and commitments.

I recall logging more than 50 hours on Zoom one of those early weeks and thinking, “Holy cannoli, there’s no way I can handle this much time staring at a computer screen and stay even remotely okay.”

We’ve ridden a few waves and iterations of pandemic fatigue now, each one slightly different from the last and unique in its own right.

But one thing has remained unchanged throughout for me and I wonder if the same is true for you:

I have come to appreciate community in a whole new way since last March.

This month I’ve been talking about the idea of “1% change,” of the power of tiny, tiny tweaks that can have a big cumulative effect.

Last week I talked about building resiliency, the ability to recover quickly from difficulty and to bounce back, by looking for tiny places you can embrace small moments of discomfort in service of a higher value.

This week, I want to talk about the role that community plays and how we can apply that same 1% change idea to how we engage and connect with our communities.

So.

First, “community” can have a broad definition.

When I looked for something to include here, it had 9-12 different definitions depending on the source. Whoa, doggie.

To keep things simple, by community, I mean any person or group or location with which you connect, seek belonging, have relationship, identify.

So where does the whole 1% change come in?

Well, let’s jump right into some examples of tiny tweaks we can make to connect with our communities…

• reaching out via text, phone call, letter, postcard, social media comment to let someone know that you’re thinking of them or appreciate what they’re doing or how they’re showing up

• a random act of kindness…paying for the coffee for the car behind you in the drive through, giving a stranger a compliment, letting someone ahead of you in line at the grocery store

• listening with your full attention when a loved one is speaking

• dropping food at your local food bank

• taking a walk around a local trail or historic area or arts district just to get more familiar with your area’s local beauty or history or creators

• showing up for a socially distanced volunteer opportunity

• eat dinner at the table instead of in front of the tv

• promoting someone’s work or business through your networks

• reaching out to an old teacher or mentor and thanking them for the impact they had on you

• get take-out from every local restaurant within a certain number of miles of you, even if it’s food you’re unfamiliar with

• asking someone about their day or how they are and waiting for a real answer

• Venmo a teacher, educator, or activist you’ve learned from

• dropping cookies off unexpectedly for a neighbor or your mechanic or the person experiencing homelessness down the road

• canceling all obligations and spending a Sunday afternoon eating popcorn and watching old family movies or taking turns picking favorite movies or reading out loud to one another bundled under blankets

• organizing Zoom birthday parties (or FaceTime brunches or whatever…)- don't skip the opportunities to celebrate the every day

• sending an anonymous gift to someone

• join a Patreon or contribute to a Go Fund Me project or creator you connect with

• take a live online class or free webinar and contribute…actually show up and take part and engage, encourage you classmates, ask questions

Look, I know some of these suggestions are basic and you’re likely rolling your eyes a little.

But, as the folks at AA always say, “it works if you work it.”

Feeling connected to our communities requires us to actually show up in those communities in some way, shape, form.

Not everything needs to be a huge energy output. I’m not asking you to volunteer for every charity drive or protest event or host dinner for 12 people (please don’t do that, actually!).

Choose small ways that work for you, and then show up to them.

Honestly, as a true introvert, I very rarely get tired of my own company.

Solitude and quiet are my love languages.

But even I need to be a part of something larger than myself to be fully actualized as a human, and I’ll bet you do, too.

So whether it’s connecting virtually to your people communities or picking up trash in your geographic community, find some tiny 1% way to commit to showing up this week.

You know I’d love to hear about it, so don’t be shy—tell me!

And if you want to connect to an intimate group of folks from this community, I invite you to join me for my March Say The Word half-day retreat:

Beliefs & Misbeliefs: Inspecting Our Foundations

March 13, 2021

11am-3pm EST

$79 early-bird pricing through February 13, 2021