Humans have always known we cannot survive alone, and that to protect ourselves, we need to persuade others to care about us. We cultivate trusting reciprocal pacts with other people – blood relatives, but also friends and neighbours - through which reassure ourselves we can both care and be cared for, if the necessity strikes. These ties can have... See more
Stop trying to make social networks succeed, stop dreaming of a universal network. Instead, invest in your own communities. Help them make long-term, custom and sustainable solutions. Try to achieve small and local successes instead of pursuing an imaginary universal one. It will make you happier.
In working so hard to become independent, we forget how much satisfaction we get from the sense that others depend on us, and the meaning we can create by allowing ourselves to be dependent on others—if only we have the courage to let them help us.
From the return of co-living spurred on by the increasingly realized benefit of living close to friends and family, to the growing presence of grassroots community initiatives like Neighborhood Trade School, mutual aid fridges, and community gardens, it’s clear that we’ve begun to recognize the potency of solving problems with collective solutions... See more
Imagine how much relationships would change if people went into one thinking “how can I make this person’s life better” instead of “how can this person make my life better”