Sometimes when I look at the state of our world, it makes me wonder about the power of community.  I wonder if part of what we are seeing is a lack of connection with one another.  Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy wrote about the healing power of human connection in his book Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World.  In the book, Dr. Murthy makes the case that loneliness is a public health concern in America.  Though at the center of our loneliness lies an innate desire to connect.  Because on some level we know that we are better together.

Dr. Murthy explains the evolution of loneliness, relying on work shared by the late Dr. John Cacioppo.  Dr. Cacioppo had this evolutionary theory of loneliness that humans survived as a species not because of physical advantages like strength, speed, or size.  We survived as a species because of our ability to connect in social groups.  We survived because of our ability to work together across our differences. 

Humans share information and emotions with one another. 
Humans have the ability to communicate and work together. 
This is rather remarkable when you stop and think about it!

In Together, Dr. Murthy explains, “Working together, early humans solved technological problems that would have stumped them individually, and by sharing their discoveries, they spread and improved on them.  Just imagine the excitement when the very first group of hominids debated the uses of fire or figured out how to raft across a vast river.”* 

The default way of being for our ancestors was togetherness. 
It was a matter of survival.
And the value of connection was often easy to see because there was strength in numbers. 

Sometimes I worry that we have forgotten that we need each other. 
It is healing to be connected in this sometimes lonely world. 
And this is just one of the reasons why I find that being part of a faith community is so essential to our well-being.

Love,
Pastor Lauren

*Vivek H. Murthy, Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, pg. 31.

Photo by Loume Visser on Unsplash

Thursday Thoughts 3/6/25