How can friendship (especially female friendship) make a city better?

e explored that topic on Thursday evening when I spoke for the WE Lead Alumni group. (WE Lead is a women’s leadership development course given by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber.)

What role does friendship have in community building? – and why is that important? Per a book we reference frequently, The Tending Instinct, women play a strong, and often unrecognized, role in communities. Per the research from this book, children look to women for tending, men look to women for tending and women look to women for tending. So, based on that theory, if you take care of the women in the community, you take care of the community.

Add to that, female friend makes women healthier, happier, less stressed, live longer and feel more beautiful. So, if the women in our community have healthy, vital female friendships, they’re better equipped  to tend to the needs of each other, their families and their community.

“The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” James Taylor

Why is community so important? That’s what make a city a hometown. It’s great to have strong companies, respected educational institutions, safe neighborhoods and thriving opportunities. However, as we discussed last night, if you don’t know your neighbors, you don’t have community. If the only time you see you the people on your street is on Halloween or when they’re moving their lawns and you’re driving by, you don’t have the sense of commarderie or a relationship that would lead to helping, knowing or enjoying each other. Community is a sense of pride, belonging and comfort.

Or, as James Taylor put it, happiness relies on enjoying life – where you are. Home, and a home town, is more than a destination, it’s a feeling and an attitude. It’s a strength and a confidence. (Wouldn’t we LOVE that about our city?!!)

So, let’s test out this theory. Spend time with your girlfriends. Volunteer together. Welcome new women into your community. Reach across cultural lines and get to know people from different neighborhoods. Look for opportunities to connect with women – through programs like WE Lead, neighborhood book clubs, networking events, church or volunteer programs.

And share your stories here at Girlfriendology. Inspire others. Let’s make our communities better – wherever we are!

CINCINNATI REMINDER

Please spread the word to anyone who likes woodworking or just tools in general: there is a tool sale and fundraiser for our friends Bruce and Becky on Sunday.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at 6:32 am and is filed under Be a Better Friend, cincinnati. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.