It takes a village to raise a child

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There’s a saying “It takes a village to raise a child” and that in today’s day and age there’s an acceptance that we don’t or won’t always have a village around us anymore. As it has become easier to keep in touch and toe world more connected, the opposite is also true and happening – feelings of isolation, loneliness and disconnected have never been so prevalent. Sometimes it is easy to forget that the life we portray on social media is highly edited, highly stylized highlight reel that we wish to portray to the world as we mindlessly scroll through others equally highly edited, highly stylized highlight reels. It is so easy to unfavorably compare our messy, complicated lives and daily routines to these little squares of perfection when we also aren’t aware of how long they spent getting that ‘perfect’ shot, the behind the scenes helps they have from family, friends or even (heaven forbid) paid for.

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In today’s isolation and disconnectedness, it is easy to think that we are the only one facing this problem or that problem. If we can only take some time to find a connection with other people, we may find that we aren’t alone in our individual struggles. The challenge is that connection can take many interactions, conversations and touch points before a friendship begins to develop. It’s hard to develop likeness and trust with the limited interactions we have with most people these days. Life adds to the challenge and complexity with the realization that some friendships and connections are only for a season rather than the lifetime we thought they may last. Some of those seasons of friendships can be long and enduring while others are short and sweet, to teach us a lesson or introduce us to someone new or a new concept.

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Sometimes, the people that appear to have the most family and friends support can actually be among the loneliest in our society, paying a heavy price for that ‘support’. Quite a juxtaposition if you think about it, particularly when you consider that the opposite can be true too. Those that appear to be isolated and disconnected can sometimes have quite the supporting village.

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The saying/phrase also reminds us, that we are parents are not expected, nor can we ever hope, to be the only teachers and influences on our children. We can only hope that those we place our trust in to fulfil these ‘village’ roles share the same core values as us, imparting their wisdom and knowledge freely and wisely, and live up to our faith in them.

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