Have you developed the skill of putting community first? Right now with the threat of COVID19 and catastrophic climate change, this skill is more important than ever.

In our daily lives, we’re all faced with important choices about when to put ourselves first or when to put community first. In many situations, putting ourselves first is important, particularly when our dignity, integrity or physical safety is at issue. In other instances, however, it’s important to put others first.

Like many of you, I have had several experiences that have helped me develop the skill of putting community first:

• Playing on competitive volleyball teams taught me important lessons about putting the interests of the team ahead of my own – of prioritizing the collective over the individual.
• Being raised in a family where decisions were made through a lens of community impact, the idea of considering the impacts on others and the larger community was always ingrained in my siblings and me. We were raised to think about how we could serve others and to think about how we could make a positive dent in the world.
• Becoming a mother was another important life change that taught me about how and why to put the interests of others ahead of my own. Having an adorable new baby who is completely dependent on the care and love of parents is an experience like no other that teaches us how to put the interests of others ahead of our own.

And the most important lesson many of us will ever have in relation to the importance of putting community first has come in the form of the invisible global threat of COVID19.

If there was ever is a time to act on this important lesson, it is now. We are faced with a moment in history that is in so many ways unprecedented. We are facing a global pandemic in COVID19. We are on the verge of catastrophic climate change. Both pose a significant threat to our families, our communities and our entire planet.

Putting community first brings into focus considerations of how our daily decisions impact the collective. This approach helps us see how our individual actions impact the community around us.  It helps us act in a way that serves the greater good even where it might be inconvenient or uncomfortable to do so.

With respect to COVID19, putting community first requires each of us to make daily decisions to reduce the factors that contribute to the exponential spreading of the virus. We need to think about how we can stay away from others so we don’t infect them and they don’t infect us. We need to take every precaution to ensure that the youngest ones, the immune-compromised ones, and the oldest, wisest ones among us remain safe.

This means that it’s not more important to go out to a bar than to stay home. It’s not more important that you get a lifetime supply of lysol wipes so that those who have compromised immune systems don’t have any. It’s not more important that you make the most money right now while others are making decisions aimed at protecting the most vulnerable among us.

What it does mean is that we use this approach of putting community first to weigh the mundane, seemingly small choices we make every day; choices about whether to go out or stay in; choices to stand further away from others than we might otherwise do; and choices about self-isolating even when we don’t feel ill.

In practicing this skill and discipline of putting community first, each of us can help to keep others safe. We can help protect that five-year-old boy fighting cancer. We can help to ensure that a ventilator is available for that elderly woman who worked for her whole career as a nurse saving other people’s lives. And we can help reduce the risk for my daughter who has been hospitalized multiple times for respiratory distress.

As Dr. Lindsay Jernigan says: “Instead of seeing ‘social distancing’ and travel bans as panic; try seeing them as acts of mass cooperation intended to protect the collective whole. This plan is not about individuals going into hiding. Its’ a global deep breath…an agreement between humans around the planet to be still. Be still, in hopes that the biggest wave can pass without engulfing too many of the vulnerable amongst us.”

The Benefits of Putting Community First

With respect to climate change, this approach of putting community first is already having remarkable impacts. As we choose to self-isolate to stay home with the kids or work from home, we as a collective are having a significant positive impact on the environment. The water in the canals in Venice are clear for the first time in a long time and the fish are visible. There’s satellite imagery of China that shows almost no air pollution because everyone has stayed home. Through our collective response to COVID19, we may inadvertently have learned how to effectively tackle climate change.

Through this unpredictable time, we’re also seeing inspiring acts of human kindness and community solidarity. All over the world, communities are banding together to ensure that those who are most vulnerable have the food, supplies and supports they need to stay safe while self-isolating. In Italy, neighbours are singing together and making the most beautiful music.   On my street, we have created a group of volunteers who can be called on at anytime to go get groceries or other supplies for anyone who is quarantined.

These acts demonstrate how people around the world know that it is the right time to put community first.  We have shown that, as humans, we are able to act together for the common good and protect the most vulnerable among us.  So let’s carry these important lessons with us:

Let’s continue to make choices to protect the larger community.

Let’s continue to be still, to cocoon inside with our families, and to take that deep collective breath so that we can ride out this storm together.

And let’s continue to witness the wonderful things that can happen when we put community first.

We would love to hear how you are putting community first in the comments section below.  And if you enjoyed it, share!

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