Facing the unknown together - The importance of community
There is not much doubt anymore that we are at a moment of historical change:
From the vertiginous pace of technological advancements and global political shifts to urgent climate challenges. We are faced with a constant stream of change and uncertainty.
This moment shouldn't make us feel too special, as change is probably one of the few constants in history (if not, ask your grandparents). However, everything seems a bit more complex, hectic, and confusing this time.
Well, that could be because we have forgotten something that has always brought a bit of light to moments as challenging, if not more, as the present.
We cannot make it on our own
Communities have always played a vital role in helping people navigate the challenges of their times. From ancient societies, communities provided support through shared traditions, rituals, and values that helped individuals find meaning and a sense of stability in their lives.
Also, whether it's hunting and gathering together, building shelters, or raising families, communities facilitated access to practical support and shared resources and knowledge critical to surviving and thriving.
Today, although the word community appears on every corner, often as an ephemeral marketing claim behind some product or service, the truth is that communities are weaker than ever. Or at least, a true sense of community is quite more difficult to find.
Yes, we have more choices now, and our community is not limited anymore to where we are born. However, the individualistic logic that has pushed us to believe that we can "make it on our own" and be self-sufficient in every area of our lives is making more and more people feel that they don't belong to anything or anyone.
As research has shown, we need the community. We need strong social bonds to live a meaningful and fulfilling life, and especially in times of uncertainty and change, these human support nets are crucial to finding the strength and resilience needed to face the unknown and preserve, at least a little bit, our emotional well-being.
The challenges of modern communities
With increased political and religious freedom, more social and geographical mobility, and the appearance of the internet, our community is not necessarily tied to the village, the family, the social class, or the religion in which we are born. New options and more possibilities are presented to us, as also unique challenges.
Recent years have given rise to the generation of hustle, continuous satisfaction, and lack of commitment and dedication, which make building strong communities quite tricky. A community is not acquired like any other product or good but practiced, and that practice requires time and effort.
Time and effort to build a minimum degree of cohesion based on shared values, to understand that others need us as much as we need them, and to overcome the conflict and difficulties that arise naturally in any human group and that, when well managed, make relationships stronger.
Then comes the factor of temporariness and space. What happens when we change communities often throughout our lives, and interaction is not confined to a particular physical place?
Even if its members are committed, strive for the common good, and put time and effort into the community, we should accept that communities are now more fluid.
This means that we need to find mechanisms for individuals to join and leave the community at different stages without compromising its continuity and to enable different ways of interacting within it.
But these are not the only barriers to be overcome. Surprisingly, with instant communication at a global scale and the possibility to connect with potentially anyone in the world, communities are not becoming more diverse and rich, but rather the opposite.
There is an increasing number of different tribes to belong to, but these tribes are more homogenous internally. Dissent –fundamental to the development of any community– is penalized, and we see more and more polarization and factions.
The challenge is to figure out a way to create profoundly inclusive communities where we can build shared truths from diverse opinions and beliefs. Communities that can accommodate the life projects of individuals that are deeply different while providing a platform to pursue joint endeavors.
These examples alone make it quite clear that the present conditions are unprecedented in history. And maybe the most significant difficulty we face in creating and nurturing meaningful communities today is that we lack references (just watch any parliament session or tv debate) and exemplary leaders bringing in new proposals.
Even if we can learn a lot from traditional communities, going back to the past is not an option, so all that remains is for us to discover how to create the communities we need today to face the future together. We are in uncharted territory
Exploring new ways of living together
When the family is not what it used to be, the neighborhood is not what it used to be, and work is not what it used to be, a space for new living solutions opens up. Most of us will not live and work like our parents or grandparents.
We need to create solutions that can help to overcome loneliness and isolation, provide a sense of belonging and a support net and, at the same time, be living labs where new ways of living in the community can be prototyped. Because if one thing is sure, it's that no solution will be definitive, and we will need to continue to evolve it.
One of these solutions, but definitely not the only one, is coliving, that if approached in the right way –and not as the new real estate promised land– could become a great playground to learn to live together and redefine what community means.
Coliving as a solution?
By putting together individuals from all walks of life under one roof, a coliving becomes a kind of microcosm of society where diverse perspectives, ideas, customs, and values can be shared, enabling cross-pollination and the practice of tolerance and respect.
And thanks to its nature as a physical space, relationships are given a different rhythm and quality that can be experienced and then extended into other areas of life and even into virtual communities.
However, this alone is probably not enough. A coliving is not just beds and rooms in a fancy house; as humans, we need something more than a shared space and a group of people to create a community.
In Vivarium, we are discovering that for a coliving to become a catalyst for new ways of relating to each other and being in a community, there also needs to be a strong intentionality to create meaningful bonds with others.
As well as a solid framework for living together and making decisions, shared spaces for learning and knowledge creation, and a minimalistic ethic in the form of shared values that are respected by everyone.
The challenge is not small, and there are no magical solutions or ready-to-made recipes. Still, with these ingredients in place, we are seeing how gradually the community is becoming a platform to face what's next together.
In our case, this materializes in different ways: like the sense of belonging and strong social connection that emerges after some time living together in the house, a culture of mutual aid and support –both practical and emotional–, the convergence of individual purposes into shared ones, or the personal and professionals learnings that take place during our many informal conversations and community sessions.
After a year and a half since we opened our doors and more than 60 human beings that have contributed to the community, there are many examples and stories, but let's leave them for another article.
There's still a lot to be done, and we keep learning every day; going against the current is never easy, and the wind of individualism, alienation, and confusion is quite strong.
However, when facing today's rapidly changing and complex world, we now feel a little bit less confused, a little bit less overwhelmed, and a little bit less alone, knowing that we are together in this, that we are together facing the unknown.
