community

As much as I cherish my alone time, my life and my future are heavily influenced by the people I surround myself with; as is yours! Everyone's individual communities and social circles greatly impact their mental space, and therefore their experiences and perspectives of said experiences. Without my family and friends, I would literally not be who I am today. Sounds cliché but is true in more ways than one. Skipping the deep dive into the sciences regarding behavior(neuroscience, developmental sciences, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and more...), it suffices to say that your parents and peers impact your values. Beyond that, I realized that the meaning in life, that I've adopted on my own accord, revolves around enjoying the 1 in 1,000,000,000 chance I've been afforded to know the people that I do. Fancy wording for: the people in my life matter to me. They don't matter because the TV and internet tell me they're supposed to - it is of my own conscious experiences that I came to understand the importance of my community. In meditative practices, specifically in Raja yoga, "sangha" is the sanskrit word that translates to "community". It is an area of focus for a reason; since these people have such a direct impact on your well-being & life, it makes sense that in order to "attain enlightenment" (a.k.a live a fulfilling life), you need to make sure your relationships with the people you interact with the most are at a state you are happy with. This doesn't mean you have to be completely selfless - in fact, in order to be the best version of you for yourself AND those around you, you have to be selfish. You have to make sure you take care of yourself - physically, mentally, and spiritually. Only then can you properly and positively affect the loved ones in your life. "You cannot pour from an empty cup" as all the self-help posters like to proclaim! Looking back on my life, specifically periods where I felt very isolated, I feel a very deep warmth in my chest when I think about the people I love. Being able to reach out to them and have a conversation about almost whatever, and just enjoy the time we have with each other, is probably the greatest wealth I have. I fill my cup up to make sure I can give to them, as they give to me.