Week 9: Seek community, communion and fellowship

“Healing is impossible in loneliness; it is the opposite of loneliness. Conviviality is healing. To be healed we must come with all the other creatures to the feast of Creation.”

~Wendell Berry

As human beings, we all feel a deep desire to be with others of our kind. We're going to look at and work on this need in detail later in the year, but the spiritual aspect of the need for companionship is a particular case of that which deserves to be looked at on its own. While your spirituality is probably the most deeply personal aspect of who you are, the social imperative is so strong within all of us that it's actually vital to a healthy spiritual life. It's important to have people who believe as you do – faith and contentment in life thrive from the affirmation of fellowship, and it is good to have people with whom you can discuss the issues of life with the same context and outlook as you do. The advice and empathy you can get from a fellow believer are qualitatively different from that which you can get from anyone else: they share in your worldview and can far better understand what it is you are going through.

Another positive is the sense of community you can get from meeting with others regularly. It's no surprise that pretty much all religions have an emphasis on coming together at least once a week – ritual and observance play a powerful role in all aspects of human life. People who regularly attend some kind of service have been shown to be happier and to live longer, healthier lives than those who do not.

Weekly challenge:

Cultivate relationships with people who believe the same as you do. Find a congregation or something similar that appeals to you – nowadays even those who do not ascribe to any religious belief can find regular 'assemblies' in which fellow unbelievers can come together and share in the spirit of community. If you are intensely passionate about a particular topic (you believe in something so strongly, like a religion), attend a local meeting/club this week and socialize with like-minded people .

LIFE PRINCIPLES

There are a few basic concepts and that apply to every aspect of life – overarching meta-habits that, if you apply them diligently and consistently, will turn every part of your life to gold. Pay attention to them – the necessity to use them will keep turning up throughout your year of transformation.