Header image: Logo of newly-formed Irish & New Social Crew community group
(Jan 7, 2025). Dr. Vivek Hallegere Murthy. My Parting Prescription for America. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/my-parting-prescription-for-america.pdf [deleted from the DHHS website]
https://www.vivekmurthy.com/partingprescription
Community as the Formula for Fulfillment
[C]ommunity is a powerful source of life satisfaction and life expectancy. It’s where we know each other, help each other, and find purpose in contributing to each other’s lives
- We don’t have to be fulfilled in every way by one single community. Most of us need a few different communities in our lives to make us feel whole. And communities don’t have to be static; they can evolve and overlap, like when parents from our child’s school become part of our softball league or join our congregation.
Some of the most enduring lessons about community can be found in faith and cultural traditions across the world. The teachings of Christianity ask us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and the Hindu scriptures guide us to care for our guests as we would care for the Divine. The Jewish emphasis on Hesed, loving-kindness,is a reminder of our obligation to be there for and care for each other, and the Muslim pillar of Zakat enshrines the importance of lifting up others through charity. The South African philosophy of Ubuntu—often translated as “I am, because we are”—emphasizes our interdependence and responsibility to one another as human beings.
Our Challenge Today
Many [people] ask the same question: what’s the point of success if it doesn’t bring fulfillment? Even worse, what if our current approach to success is hurting our health and moving us further away from fulfillment?
- Technology, despite all its benefits, has trapped many of us in digital silos with less face-to-face contact.
- Social media has turbocharged a culture of constant comparison that too often undermines our self-worth and makes us feel dissatisfied with our lives.
And underneath these trends, the pendulum of self-reliance has swung so far to one end that needing others is seen as a sign of weakness, leading to a vicious cycle of stress, isolation, and more stress.
- The loss of community has become one of the defining challenges of our time. In response, we need a fundamental shift in how we build and prioritize community.
Building Community
So, what makes community possible? Three core elements: relationships, service, and purpose. And one core virtue: love. Together, they create the ecosystem of meaning and belonging that are essential for fulfillment.
- Relationships, service, and purpose are the timetested triad of fulfillment that stands in contrast to wealth, fame, and power which define the modern-day triad of success.
- The triad of success may earn us praise and possessions. The triad of fulfillment gives us meaning and belonging.
The Core Virtue of Community: Love
To build community requires love. Love not as sentimentality, but as a commanding force with the power to build, strengthen, and heal. Love as generosity and kindness. Love as hope and grace. Love as courage.
The Momentum for Community is Building
In our own ways, we all have the power to choose community.
Each time we do, we are doing our part to pave the road to fulfillment for ourselves and others.
Closing
- Choose community.
Like most people, I sometimes find myself worried about whether I’m achieving enough, getting enough recognition, or making enough money. In those moments, I think about the patients I cared for at the end of their lives and what they shared with me about what made for a fulfilling life. It was never the size of their bank accounts, the number of their followers, or their list of achievements. It was always about people. The people they loved. The people they served. The people whose lives they touched. In the end, when only the most meaningful strands of life remain, this is what matters.
[Résumé virtues]
╬
(Feb 20, 2021) Biden’s top doctor nominee made more than $2 million doing pandemic consulting, speeches
https://archive.is/GALQB#selection-386.0-386.1
╬
(July 22, 2022) Refuting 3 Accusations Against St Teresa of Calcutta
https://catholicismcoffee.org/refuting-3-accusations-against-st-theresa-of-calcutta-9b4df0391917