The Miracle of Closer Communities
As we rounded the corner on December and COVID continued to fragment our lives, I thought a lot about the many people who would be spending their time indoors, separated from family and friends. One thing I’ve always longed for since moving to Halifax 20 years ago, is well, more community. We live in a pretty typical area where people’s lives are consumed with driving kids to and from activities, meeting work demands and caring for elderly parents. This all makes for a busy life, one that doesn’t allow for frivolous things like community engagement.
But as we moved into the most festive, family oriented time of the year, I couldn’t shake the reality that many would not be able to gather. One of the main lessons that COVID has taught us is that long term isolation can have devastating effects on our mental health. We are social beings, and we all (to various degrees) rely on social time to uplift our mood and our energy.
One day, the girls and I got to talking about how we could give back to our community who really stepped up and surrounded us during our darkest hour. In some ways, we were fortunate that our tragedy was so public, because everyone knew about it and therefore, everyone pitched in. But what about the people in our community who might be suffering, much like we were, without the public awareness?
We decided to write a letter and drop it off to the 30 odd houses on our street, inviting them to be a part of a community association. This would be a place where we could share residential details, ask for help, share resources etc. I wasn’t sure if we’d get any traction since there were many people we’d never spoken to before, but I was wrong. The response from most was very positive and instantaneous. We created an email list, a private facebook group and set a date for our first community event. Again, not knowing what the response would be, we sent out a community-wide invitation for all to join us for a tree lighting celebration on the third of December. It was outdoors, COVID safe, inclusive and optional.
I was encouraged to see some email exchanges about ornaments and lights, but I still wasn’t convinced people would show up. A half an hour before the tree lighting event, no one was around, but I set up the music and put on my Christmas Tree hat nonetheless. I said to my family “Oh well, it was a good try. The nice thing is that I’m not attached either way, if people come out great, if not, it doesn’t matter.” At 3:50pm a few people showed up, some with ornaments, others with battery operated lights. By 4:15pm? There was a full crowd, with homemade cookies, ladders, even poles to put the lights up high on the tree. One woman organized the ornaments at the ground level, while a seasoned sailor recruited a few others to help him put the lights up near the top.
People who were new to the neighborhood got to meet existing neighbors and heck, many long time residents met other long time residents whom they’d seen around but never met before. After a few hours of decorating, with dusts of snow on our cheeks and frigid fingers that were no longer moving very well, it was time to set the timer on the lights. With fifteen children and teens tucked around the base, the man in charge of the lights counted down and they all pressed their timers. Despite the freezing toes and shaking shoulders, many stayed to hear about their neighbors’ first year of university or to commiserate with their other neighbor’s family loss. Honestly, it was one of the most magical experiences of my life and this photo is the end result of our community wide effort.
What I loved most about this event is that I had no vested interest in being the leader, like I have to be in my work space. In fact, I didn’t have the energy to carry it through, so when the time came to execute the plan, I was more than happy to hand it over to people with more voluminous voices and strategic ideas.
I share this experience with the hope that you might consider doing something similar wherever you reside. These are really difficult times, and we know from lived experience that dark days are lighter when they’re shared with others. Let’s do what we can to foster connection and community, and make sure that everyone is invited to the party.