We are the ones to save us

Overhead shot of people working in a community garden.

In the past few years, I have been stretching myself to decolonize my own therapeutic lens, my view of the world, and my place in this tumultuous world.

The authors, podcast hosts, and speakers I have been learning from are in agreement: No one is coming to save us. We see community care and mutual aid playing out in Minneapolis in opposition of this administrations attack on American people.

Like many other white people in the world, I was brought up believe that I was safe, that someone was looking out for me, that everything would be ok. The state of the world today and going back to understand how privileged that view is, have led me to understand very differently. I am still unpacking that deep seeded belief. But one of the most important values I hear time and time again are to invest in community. That our little neighborhoods, co-operative spaces, mutual aid organizations, clubs, and even sometimes religious organizations will be the places where we save each other. This is what our indigenous teachers and minority leaders have been trying to tell us for decades. By perpetuating the belief that someone else is going to save us, we both opt out of saving each other and deny our own responsibility for those in our community who need us to support them. We are taking part in the Western ideas of rugged individualism that continue to drive us apart from each other.

As someone who has also deconstructed her own religious upbringing, it has been difficult to find community, as churches really have a stronghold on that space in 2026 USA. But I am working on it, including finding several spiritual spaces that do resonate with my value system. Getting and being uncomfortable, being inconvenienced, and challenging myself has been part of the process. I'm sure it will continue to be!

Recently, one of the creators I follow on Instagram posted a wonderful guide for building community for all types of people: introverts, people who are immune-compromised, time-crunched humans, etc. I love how she started small, with tangible ideas. As a person who sometimes jumps in with both feet, overcommitting, and leading to burnout, it has been helpful to lean in to what I actually have time for.

You can find her post here: How to build a village in your zip code

How are you building community? Who is in your village? How are we continuing to save each other?