The Myth of Easy Community

Some days I wonder when it got so hard to make, keep, or see friends.

There was a time when community just happened. Now it feels like something we have to schedule, plan, and convince ourselves to show up for.

It’s strange - we’ve never been more connected, yet we’ve never felt lonelier.

Between work, kids, and the mental marathon of just getting through the week, showing up anywhere - even for something good - can feel impossible. It’s easier to stay home. To put on the pajamas. To tell yourself you’ll go next time.

But that quiet pull toward comfort can slowly rob us of what we really need: connection. And lately, I’ve been realizing something that I think might be true for all of us - inconvenience is the cost of community.

The inconvenient, “Yes!” Real community isn’t effortless.

It asks something of us. It asks us to leave the house even when the day has us feeling spent. It asks us to bring the toddler who might throw a fit halfway through dinner. It asks us to follow through on plans we only made with ourselves - to get in the car and go, even when no one would know if we didn’t.

It’s in those moments of small resistance that something sacred happens. You walk into a room and someone looks up and smiles - not because everything’s perfect, but because you showed up. Your kid calms down after a warm meal. You share a story with someone you’ve never met before and realize, oh… it’s not just me.

That’s what community looks like - not shiny, not curated - but real, alive, and human.

And it’s why, when we open the doors for a Village Collective dinner or a Harmony Garden event, we’re not just offering food or music. We’re offering space. A space to be tired and welcome anyway. A space to set down the mental load for just one evening. A space where no one keeps score of how often you come - they just notice that you came.

The Truth About Building Community: Community isn’t something we stumble into anymore. It’s something we build, one inconvenient “yes” at a time.

And every time we choose that yes - every time we show up, even when it’s hard - we make it a little easier for the next person to do the same.

That’s how it starts.
That’s how it grows.
That’s how we build the village - together. Join us for our next Village Collective Meetup!