Community is everything. I truly believe that we connect and create communities among the people we know.

So how do we define a community? I mean how do we define a community on a relational point of view? Is it only about sharing or having certain attitudes and interests in common?According to McMillan and Chavis, the sense of community can be defined as “a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members’ needs will be met through their commitment to be together.”

We somehow all create our own communities. They meet our basic human needs for
love and belonging, respect, structure, involvement and ultimately, meaning. Having had the chance to live in different countries, I have build what I have called “my tribes” in those different places. I am indeed always keen on connecting people and sharing moments or knowledge.
I want to keep on building a community wherever I live. Lately I have tried to gather all the wonderful persons I get to know, trying to link those persons and enlarge this community. I am convinced that it is an ongoing process based on:

• Caring and supportive relationships
  Those relationships rely on the values of compassion, understanding and respect. They are grounded in attentive listening and trust.
• Positive and high expectations
  This allows me to highlight strengths and assets as opposed to problems and deficits.
• Opportunities for sharing and meaning
  A community is based on gathering people that share common interests, even passions like yoga. I know that I always create international gathering, sharing moments of I hope joy and laughter.

Where are your communities? Where do you belong? What do you get from it?