Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Community -- Why is it hard? Belonging to community has huge benefits. It's hard because true community includes annoying and irritating people who don't agree with us. It includes people who sometimes act bizarre or socially inappropriately. It doesn't exclude and it minimizes power imbalances. Having true community takes work, because it's easier to be anonymous and let other people be in charge. But the effort pays off, and it's worth it.

Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Community Revisited Each of us is a neuron in a social brain. We need connectedness to each other to regulate our moods. I propose that the current explosion in the rates of diagnosis of anxiety disorders, depression, and bipolar disorder is relted to our lack of connectedness. We no longer have other people to regulate our moods and emotions. Alternatives to isolation are available and desirable but require us to relinguish some freedom.