We are made for community.  When it comes down to it, life really is all about relationships.  A common struggle for many is surrounding yourself with a healthy community of people.  People that know, support and love you.  People that will challenge and hold you accountable.  People you can be yourself around and be vulnerable to.

We often joke that there needs to be a website like match.com or eharmony.com that is for friends rather than for romantic relationships.  Many individuals and couples that move to South Florida struggle to build friendships initially.  It can be difficult to find people that you connect with and that are a positive influence in your life.  This can be especially difficult as a couple since there are several individuals that would need to connect with each other for a solid friendship to form.  These friendships help us maintain perspective in life.  Many lose perspective on their marriage or individual lives because of their lack of community (both friends and family).

We live a very individualistic culture in the United States.  We are driven to succeed and to be independent.  There can be many rewards from living in this individualistic mindset, but we also pay a great price when compared to many of the community based cultures out there.  Our children don’t grow up near family and lose the generational influence.  We have few people that really know and care about us.  Even those with many “friends” (surface friends that is) feel lonely and unknown.  Community is essential to a healthy life and is something you can begin to pursue today.

Invest your time in others.  Take advantage of opportunities to spend time with new and different people.  Invite other couples or individuals over to your house for dinner.  Join a Bible study group, a community center group, or a hobby group.  Reestablish connections with your family.  Ask yourself how many people in your life really know you.  If we could all just have one or two people that really know us, that would bring about a wealth of energy, hope and perspective.  We encourage you to find one way you can further establish healthy community in your life this week and take action on that.  For any questions on community or anything related to counseling, please contact us anytime at www.olivercounseling.com.