When it came to community there used to be an impression of permanence. Whether it was staying at a company for your entire career, spending your life living in the same town, or committing to a marriage in a time before divorce. There was not complete stability, but there were fewer options and they were harder to execute on.

Now, however, changing communities is relatively easy and expected. That means the idea that we are all in this together no longer really applies. At work anyone can up and leave at any time. The same is true with friendships. It weakens our security in the communities we are a part of. When anyone can choose a different community at any time we either have to accept this, and be less attached, or constantly work as hard as we can to make this community the most attractive option. Both courses of action mean we do not get the same support from a community that we did before.

Yet this is something that many people are experiencing, so we are, at least, in this instability of community together. What if we changed our interpretation of community? A community is defined as a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. Those two things exist now more than ever. What if we create more inclusive communities? What if we look at a city, country, continent, or planet as the place? What if we define the characteristic as being alive? Just because there is change in a community does not mean it has to disappear, or that it will not accept and support us. If we do the same.