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Darwin Said Collaborate

For those of you who have read my book Deepening Community – Finding Joy together in Chaotic Times you might love to know you can sign up for a weekly inspiration at www.deepeningcommunity.org

Last week I got this fascinating gem which is a total rethinking of survival of the fittest thinking. Charles Darwin is known for his “survival of the fittest” theory. The common description is that the most able animals will continue to evolve, while weaker species will be eliminated over time. This interpretation has been used to justify what some call a “dog eat dog” world.

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Shining a Light on Natural Caring

Natural Caring is love in action. It exists all around us in the thousands of little things we do without having to think about them. It is a unifying force that transcends differences; and yet, it often goes unacknowledged and unrecognized. Even people who are routinely caring for someone or something are quick to brush it off as no big deal.

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Loneliness and Social Isolation are Public Health Issues

Loneliness and social isolation are now being recognized as public health issues in Ontario. Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. David D William, released his annual report in February 2019 called Connected Community Healthier together. The report highlights the growing evidence that loneliness and social isolation affects our health:

• Six out of ten residents say they have a very or somewhat strong sense of community. Only four out of ten know many or most of their neighbours.
• Has negative effects on the body, mind and soul.
• People who are lonely are more likely to be in the top five percent of health care users.

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Welcoming Creates the Opportunity to be “of” Community

When we hear the word community, we typically think of larger groups of people who gather around a common purpose (faith, sports, neighbourhoods, social clubs, and so on). We often think of community as participating or having membership in these groups, gatherings or events. However, we can also be involved with smaller communities of people, from a cluster of neighbours, a circle of friends or family, or the familiar faces we see at the store to the community recreation centre, or coffee shop. Further still, community inhabits relational spaces with friends, partners/spouses, siblings, parents, neighbours or co-workers. Community lives in all levels of connection, from larger community events to individual relationships. What happens then, when people do not have a strong sense to community in any of these ways? For many people, the experience of not belonging to any form of community is a daily reality. For adults with developmental disabilities, this reality is too common.  

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Involving Government in Deepening Community

Community and individual well-being are important contributors to deepening a sense of community in order to promote community change led by those who live in the community. Community members’ feelings of safety and support is intrinsically connected to the community’s strength and success. Until recently, community plans on safety and well-being operated on a community-by-community basis in Ontario.

On January 1, 2019, the Government of Ontario mandated new legislative requirements under the police services act for municipalities to work in partnership with the community to develop and adopt community safety and well-being plans.

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Natural Caring: A New Way to Think About What We Do Best Everyday

Today I listened in to a podcast called "Caring Counts: A Celebration of Natural Caring" featuring Canadian social innovators, Paul Born, Al Etmanski and Vickie Cammack. 

Vickie and Al are champions of natural caring, which they define this way: Natural caring is love in action. It is freely given. It involves a relationship with someone or something we care deeply about. It is flexible and responsive to the situation. It is reciprocal, with meaning for both the giver and the receiver.

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