Last night I had the privilege of connecting with a group of people whom I journeyed through university with.  It had been a long time since we had all seen each other.  Yet the conversation flowed and the peels of laughter echoed as we shared stories of our life together as students, as well as the life that has become for us each since those days of endless study and personal reflection.

A seemingly random group of people, all from such different worlds, yet all so touched by the humanness of experience…this was a gathering of therapists.

In the peace of the Sunday morning, I reflect on the importance of community in our lives…

I think about growing up on a remote property … the farming families banding together to burn fire breaks in preparation for the looming heat of summer, … the ladies in the little town nearby coming together to run the community charity shop and to share pots of tea with whomever popped in to seemingly just find a second hand book, … the local swimming pool built and run by the town Pool Committee made up of over-tanned codgers who loved the sun …

I think about this concept of people of all ages and aspirations coming together, held and witnessed in shared experience … the tribal gatherings under the stars, the religious ceremonies, the town square built into the architecture of towns and cities across the world … the transcendent nature of community… community being repeated across time and culture …

I think about our need for connection, for story, for placement … to help us make meaning and feel meaning in our lives …

Undeniably we are creatures of community …

It takes time, it takes effort and it takes determination to co-ordinate community. 

It took time and energy for us all to come together last night…

Yet the peels of laughter still ring through the building and my body, … the excitement of ideas generated brings vitality to my being, … and the shared acknowledgment of our personal and collective journeys, together and apart, feels more beautifully embedded within me …

Community is a part of all of our being …

Be courageous, reach out, … start a book club, knock on the neighbour’s door, or join a local art group … we all need each other much more than we often realise.

(Trained as a group therapist therapist, Sarah Sacks is an experienced counsellor, who actively encourages her clients to find capacity in relationships)

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