Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash
A community is so much more than people sharing a space. It's a living, breathing network of connections and shared experiences. While it's usually defined as “a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common,” true community runs much deeper than that.
Diversity
It doesn’t matter how different we are. What matters in building a community is the desire to live in a peaceful and caring environment, despite all our differences.Good Neighbors
Good Neighbors
When searching for a new place to call home, we hope to stumble upon neighbors who can transform a neighborhood into something meaningful. We all need to be surrounded by people who genuinely care for the well-being of others. Only this type of people can create a community that is more than just a bunch of individuals living next to each other.
It Starts with One
Building a strong community starts with individual contributions, no matter how small. As long as you are kind and willing to help others in need, you’ll be a great community member. In exchange, your community will give you a sense of belonging and the feeling that you are never alone.
Here are 35 quotes on what makes communities special — community service, coming together, engagement, involvement, and support
Quotes about community coming together
One of the marvelous things about community is that it enables us to welcome and help people in a way we couldn't as individuals.
JEAN VANIER
There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.
MARGARET J. WHEATLEY
We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.
HERMAN MELVILLE
There is immense power when a group of people with similar interests gets together to work toward the same goals.
IDOWU KOYENIKAN
Our generation has the ability and the responsibility to make our ever-more connected world a more hopeful, stable and peaceful place.
NATALIE PORTMAN
Quotes about building community
We were born to unite with our fellow men, and to join in community with the human race.
CICERO
Some people think they are in community, but they are only in proximity. True community requires commitment and openness. It is a willingness to extend yourself to encounter and know the other.
DAVID SPANGLER
What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.
KURT VONNEGUT
We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.
DOROTHY DAY
The minute we become an integrated whole, we look through the same eyes and we see a whole different world together.
AZIZAH AL-HIBRI
This world of ours… must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
Every person is defined by the communities she belongs to.
ORSON SCOTT CARD
Quotes about community service, engagement, and involvement
Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.
MUHAMMAD ALI
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
MAHATMA GANDHI
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live.
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
Teaching kids how to feed themselves and how to live in a community responsibly is the center of an education.
ALICE WATERS
Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.
SHERRY ANDERSON
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
LEO BUSCAGLIA
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
ANNE FRANK
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.
DR. SEUSS
The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.
OSCAR WILDE
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
MAYA ANGELOU
Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.
JOHN F. KENNEDY
Quotes about community support
In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, there is the power to do it.
MARIANNE WILLIAMSON
The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.
CORETTA SCOTT KING
The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers & cities; but to know someone who thinks & feels with us, & who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE
Diversity is about all of us, and about us having to figure out how to walk through this world together.
JACQUELINE WOODSON
One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone.
SHANNON L. ALDER
No man can become rich without himself enriching others.
ANDREW CARNEGIE
Quotes about community health
The power of community to create health is far greater than any physician, clinic or hospital.
MARK HYMAN
For a community to be whole and healthy, it must be based on people’s love and concern for each other.
MILLARD FULLER
Communities and countries and ultimately the world are only as strong as the health of their women.
MICHELLE OBAMA
When elected officials abandon our environment and ruin our natural resources, public health is endangered. I know the importance of providing a clean environment for our children.
GWEN MOORE
And I believe that the best buy in public health today must be a combination of regular physical exercise and a healthy diet.
JULIE BISHOP
These quotes remind us of the joy of being part of something bigger than ourselves.
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When Life Gives You Lemons, Crush Them!
Life is unpredictable at every turn. Instead of trying to manipulate its unforeseeable trajectory, time is better spent by living it. Thus, last December when my life was unceremoniously upended, it took me a moment to stabilize and regenerate.
Out of nowhere, a few days before Christmas, my husband was jobless. While nostalgic holiday music bombarded the airwaves and frenzied shoppers and travelers jostled to check off their lists, my family watched in longing and dismay. Our last paycheck was due mid-January, and then we were on our own. Anguished emotions intensified, since soon after that paycheck hit the bank, our car crashed, taking it off the road for months to come. As a result, we huddled in the suburbs with no transportation, and without a job to alleviate the situation. Fortunately, kindhearted friends rescued us throughout the crisis.
In times like these, one can easily fall apart. Fortunately, my survival mode went into overdrive and I determined to overcome each hurdle no matter how painstaking. Life bombarded me with a bucketful of lemons, but instead of making lemonade, I chose to crush the yellow off of them.
When Life Gives You Lemons, Crush Them!
Flying high
There are times in our lives when we soar. During those moments, you're flying high; you feel untouchable. This makes it excruciating to regain your footing when disaster strikes. However, it is not an impossible task if we baby-step through the debris to find solutions.
A few years before all-out calamity struck, I was flying high and living the dream life in Tokyo, Japan. Living was incredible. My husband's job gave us the ability to travel between Tokyo and the USA. Numerous miles were racked up from our trips, so we often flew first class; a six-figure salary allowed us to enjoy life in ways we never imagined. Sadly, no sooner than this miraculous lifestyle began, it was over.
The beginnings of the 2008 financial crash unfolded before our eyes as seasoned expat families lost their jobs and scrambled to return home. Since we arrived in the later months, our time was cut short. Just as we became accustomed to Japanese customs and culture, we faced a quick, unfortunate repatriation.
A couple years after our return to the US, the economic crisis hit, causing us to eventually file for bankruptcy. These unfolding events were complicated by a series of job losses, school bullying, a cancer scare, accidents, and family hospitalizations over a ten year period. Eventually, we accepted welfare while foreclosure loomed. Yet, amidst it all, I focused on the sliver of light ahead. Encouraging my family to do the same, I decided to buck the downward trend.
Bucking the downward trend
Even as I pen this piece the chaos continues; my father-in-law passed away at the end of July after a long illness. Although I was not close to him, the loss is agonizing. I’m witnessing my husband grappling with the internal struggle of the loss a loved one inevitably brings -- it cuts to the core. There is not much I can do but let him know I’m here. In the midst of this moment there is stillness, yet I feel the rush of uncertain movement as life chugs on.
Nowadays, life throws a curve at every second; there is little time to catch our collective breaths before another conundrum presents itself. Every day, in order to counteract the all-consuming, heaving sludge, I strive to buck the downward trend by raising my life-force. In order to master the art of crushing life's lemons, I clear my mind and internal space with focused meditation; I use my practice like a sword and shield to stave off the incoming conflicts. The same method applies no matter the size of the problem. No matter the size or level, I place every issue before my higher power.
How to crush your own lemons
Sadly, problems will arise no matter how much we try to circumvent life's pitfalls. However, at the heart of every enigma, a sliver of light awaits. In the end it is all about our attitude. When faced with the difficulties of life, what is your stance? Are you filled with fear? Racked with anxiety? Or are you bristling with the determination to barrel through the obstacles?
Determinedly, I strive to surmount each and every crisis, but this does not mean every battle is winnable. Yet from my perspective, as long as I’m alive, it isn't a loss – I’ve lived to fight another day. If you are struggling or dealing with an untenable situation, quiet your mind and focus on the task at hand. No matter the situation or impasse, a ray of light awaits. Buckle in and prepare to crush the yellow off those lemons!
A few ways to crush