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.
How Living Zero-Waste Will Clean Up Your Life -- And Your World
You might have seen those viral videos of individuals or even families who can fit an entire year's worth of trash into a tiny jar. By trying to ensure that everything purchased is recycled or reused, followers of the zero-waste movements are striving to avoid creating any garbage that will end up in landfills. But reduced waste isn't the only result of being mindful about your consumption -- it creates a cleaner world and life.
Ever wonder why someone would put so much effort into cutting down on waste? And if someone is interested doing so, how do they get started?
Find a deeper meaning
Beyond the obvious motivation of looming climate change devastation, for many, the journey towards zero-waste living is the result of wanting a simpler life, focused on experiences and people rather than possessions.
For others, the zero-waste journey springs from environmental concerns and then leads to a more joyful life, richer in emotional fulfillment.
For others yet, it's a way to be more connected to their faith, by honoring and protecting the natural world.
Spark joy in your life
We are overwhelmed by possessions. Countless homes have become storage areas rather than living spaces. It's no wonder there are so many spin-offs from TV shows like Storage Wars and Hoarders. We are drowning in stuff and don't know how to let go.
Do we need organizing experts like Marie Kondo to teach us how to declutter and organize all the unnecessary stuff we own? Decluttering and keeping only possessions that spark joy isn't going to work, if we keep buying and buying.
The secret to a less anxious and more eco-friendly life is surprisingly simple and difficult at the same time.
Buy less, live more
The main tenet of a zero-waste lifestyle is creating as little trash as possible. And how do we generate trash? Through our purchases.
Whether it's a cute top or the newest iPhone, we're constantly bombarded by messages to buy, buy, buy. Omnipresent aggressive marketing has led to a destructive cycle of consumerism where every problem can be solved with a fresh pair of kicks or the newest gadget.
Every time you feel the impulse to buy something, just wait. Chances are if you wait and don't give into your fear of missing out, you'll realize you don't actually need or even want whatever you were about to buy.
Fewer purchases means more money in the bank, which means more financial security, and the opportunity to go on that long-coveted vacation or taking that class you've been dreaming about.
Twenty years from now, you won't remember a random pair of sneakers or why you needed a newer smartwatch, but you will remember a family road trip, the artist that taught you how to paint, and the friends you made in that creative writing class.
Build a community
Zero-wasters are constantly on the lookout for new tips and tricks to minimize their impact on the environment. They are also eager to share their knowledge and welcome newbies on to the journey towards a more conscious way of living.
Being a "zero-waster" is like being part of a secret club, except there are hundred of thousands of members around the world. You only have to look around to find a community of mentors and friends.
With more than 95,000 members, Journey to Zero-Waste is currently the largest global zero-waste community, with members ranging from homeschooling moms in the Midwest and West Hollywood yoga instructors to German engineers and teachers living off-grid in the Australian outback.
Whatever your passion, there are like-minded people pursuing the same thing, but in a more environmentally conscious way.
Expand your knowledge
Knowledge is the catalyst of change -- and the global zero-waste movement is brimming with it, eager to share. Whether it's fixing a broken zipper, making organic soap at home, or installing your own solar panels, there are countless skills you can learn from fellow zero-wasters. Soon enough you'll be reducing your carbon footprin and nodding along in good old-fashioned stoicism to the mantra of "make do and mend."
After all, if you can fix something why throw it out and replace it with a new one that will break just as easy?
A zero-waste lifestyle can also increase independence and awareness. It's far more difficult to impulsively buy a t-shirt from a fast fashion chain when you know that they're manufactured in unsafe factories, where workers' wages keep them below the poverty line. At the same time, buying something ethically made and handcrafted connects you to person who made it, since it's a product born of passion and carefully honed skill.
Eliminate emotional waste
The careful consideration and more mindful choices that accompany living a zero-waste lifestyle are incredibly useful tools to apply in your emotional and interpersonal life as well.
Putting experiences and people before possessions will shift your focus from ownership to relationships. Being more careful with the items you own so that you can use them for longer also teaches you how to be more mindful of others and their needs.
Decluttering your home shows you how to focus on things that enrich your life, rather than drain it. And there's no bigger emotional drain than toxic people. Just like the five identical jeans that take up space in your closet, so do people take up emotional energy and time in your life. Eliminating those relationships allows you to deepen the enriching ones.
At then end of the day, living a zero-waste life is about carefully considered choices and focusing on the truly meaningful aspects of your life.