I always rolled my eyes and thought “what’s there to say? Community is important, of course, it is. But what more is there to say?” ?♀️
It took me years to realise that not only is community crucial if you want to become a digital nomad. Or start an online business. Or learn how to knit, or learn a language, or get to grips with your new ADHD diagnosis.
Or do anything else really.
And we all know the old proverb:
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
But only recently, through learning about climate change, feminism and capitalism amongst other things, did I realise that community isn’t just important, it’s the solution to all of our problems.
Ok, maybe one part of the solution to all our problems, but a really big part (we also need to plant a shit load of trees, dismantle the patriarchy and white supremacy, and then there’s Brexit…but you get the idea).
Here’s why community is so important.
What a Garden Taught Me About Community (or the lack of it)
For me, it all started with a garden.
Whenever we visit my boyfriend’s parents in the countryside we also get to enjoy their beautiful garden. It’s green and neat and they have flowers, vegetables and even a pergola. A perfect English garden really.
But as a city girl, I was surprised at how much effort and work went into this garden all year round. Watering the flowers (twice a day in summer), lawn mowing, pruning, trimming, digging, planting. ? You get the idea.
And one summer day a few years back, I was watering all the flowers when it hit me. Right at that moment, there were probably tens of thousands of people in the UK alone, who were watering their gardens. Millions all over the world.
That’s a lot of accumulated hours, never mind energy and water. And in the end, only a few people get to really enjoy their individual gardens, they’re not public after all.
It made me kind of sad to think about this.
Because there are also millions of people who don’t have a garden at all, not even a balcony or access to a park.
(In London, this gets rubbed in once a year when the “secret gardens” have an open day. On that one day, us commoners are allowed to visit the private gardens that only a select few have access to.)
How Capitalism is Keeping Us Isolated
Of course, what I am talking about here is individualism and this is just one example of it. Capitalism works best when we humans are as isolated as possible.
Why?
Because we spend more money that way. Simple.
If people live by themselves or in small nuclear families, then everyone needs their own garden and lawnmower. But also their own washing machine, and car, and vacuum cleaner and microwave and TV…
You get the gist.
And not only does this apply to material things, but also to time and energy.
Parents of small nuclear families have to pay for child care because they have no support network to help out. This is extremely expensive. Seniors have to spend their life’s savings to pay for old age homes because nobody is there to support them, we’re all busy working and paying for our individualist lives.
If you get too old to look after your garden, you have to pay for a gardener.
And on top of that, loneliness and isolation are also big business for big pharma, because people have never been more depressed and anxious ever before. Loneliness was classified as a pandemic, even before this pandemic (no pun intended).
This means people pay for meds, but also for therapy and all sorts of other support, from self-help books to personal development seminars and wellness retreats.
We are even too busy to cook for ourselves now, that’s why ready meals, take out and pre-packed meal options are so popular. We each have a big kitchen to ourselves, but no time or energy left to actually use it to cook 3 meals a day.
And in the online business world, this is no different.
We are all trying to forge our own paths, we each have to pay big bucks ? to the “experts” so we can “steal their secrets”. When in reality we don’t need another $5000 course or $15000 mastermind. We need a bloody community.
Why Community is the ‘Secret Ingredient’ We’re All Missing
We’re lonely and running a business is really hard. It’s too exhausting to figure it all out ourselves, hold ourselves accountable, stay productive and make hundreds of decisions.
That’s why we so happily part with large sums of money when an expert comes along who sells an easy copy-paste solution. But they hardly ever work of course. ?♀️
So yeah, I truly do believe that a conscious shift away from individualism towards a modern and sustainable way of communal living and working is what’s going to save us from climate change, loneliness and the destruction of our finite natural resources and our mental health.
Because it really does take a village.
To raise a baby. To run a business. To do anything meaningful actually.
And the best part about all this?
Us digital nomads are some of the people who are already figuring this out. Which is kind of counterintuitive when you think about it.
Because the stereotypical digital nomad is a single 20-something minimalist, equipped only with a laptop, a backpack and a passport. They’re kind of loners, each on their own individual paths.
But in reality, what I am seeing more and more is that this “traditional” way of being a digital nomad isn’t sustainable or even desirable. At all.
Most nomads quickly feel lonely, burn out, or get jaded, and often go home.
How (& Why) Digital Nomads are Building Communities
But the ones who keep going and do this for a while? They all end up working, travelling and living communally in one way or another.
Why otherwise would there be coworking spaces popping up like mushrooms all over the world? And why would we actually pay money to share an office with others?
And why do so many nomads spend a lot of time at coliving spaces or even opening their own? Why are there so many digital nomad communities, conferences, events, retreats? Never mind van life, tiny house communities, house sitting.
We’re all onto something.
We all realised that the old status-quo wasn’t working. We were unhappy with our work, lack of life-work balance and the endless hustle and toxic productivity.
But I would say that most of us weren’t actively aware yet of how much we’re lacking community when we decided to become nomads. It’s something that starts crystalising once we hit the road and leave our existing community and support network behind.
That’s when we realise the importance of community, and how much it is missing in the modern world.
So yeah, I do think that community is going to save the world. Not overnight, but ultimately yes.
Where Do We Go from Here?
The key to this is imagination. In order to build this communal world, we have to first imagine it.
Sadly, our imagination has been so hampered by our capitalist, hustle society with 15-second attention spans and 24/7 news cycles full of doom and gloom, that we need to start flexing our imagination muscles consciously.
We can do this through reading, writing, journaling. And talking to other people about what a better world could look like. (Btw, a must-read is The Future We Choose by Christiana Figueres).
Personally, I’ve been dreaming of a communal tiny house village for years now and I hope one day I will make this, or a version of it happen. And I won’t be able to do it by myself of course.
In the meantime, I will put all my time and energy into reminding people that we are social creatures and that capitalism has destroyed our communities.
But that it doesn’t have to be that way and that we can actively rebuild our communities, locally, globally, virtually and in-person.
I also think that women will play a key part in this.
And for the first time in a long time, I’m starting to feel a bit more hopeful about the future again.
If you’re fed up of going it alone and want more support, then join us in the The Lab! We’re a virtual community of location independent women who support each other in business and life, and we’d love for you to join us!
In The Lab, we have regular coworking sessions for productivity and accountability, plus weekly business and social events. But most importantly, we grow and learn together and support each other through the highs and lows of online business and the remote lifestyle.
You don’t have to do this all on your own! Will you join me in imagining a fairer, sustainable, more communal future? And what does community mean to you? Let me know below!
