Connection & Community - Issue 40 - 18th December 2022

Whilst it may seem that what I’m advocating for is an individualistic society in which we only consider ourselves, our development and our success, this is not my intention. I do believe that when we are healthy and courageous, we are more helpful to others and therefore I’m not suggesting that we only consider our own quest for meaning without any regard for others’. Unfortunately, the capitalist societies that we occupy enforces certain mindsets and cultures that rigorously imply that success and happiness comes from individualist-thinking, materialism and competition. Whilst competition is important, issues arise when inequalities arise. Celebrated speaker and best-selling author Dr Gabor Maté explores this issue in his book The Myth of Normal:

“…Materialistic cultures generate notions—myths, in effect—of selfish, aggressive striving and dominance as behavioural baselines, encouraging characteristics that place a lesser value on connectedness to others and to Nature itself.” (1)

What has essentially become “normal” in society runs against our humanity. For the vast majority of human-history, we were a connected species, therefore our human nature yearns for connection with others and when this crucial need is not met, issues arise as we are seeing in our increasingly disconnected culture such as rises in depression, anxiety, suicide and other mental health issues. Therefore, I suggest that we strike a balance. Just like in order to progress we must walk the tight line between chaos and order, the known and the unknown, we must also walk the tight line of community and individualism.

We mustn’t fill our time with purely individualistic pursuits and reject those around us and we mustn’t worry so much about other people that we forget to consider ourselves. Human flourishing comes from individual struggles as well as meaningful connection with others.

Keep On Struggling

Gregor

Coffee Machine I Love - Jura Ena 8

I’ve wanted a bean-to-cup coffee machine for a while now as I have three coffees per day mostly and therefore wanted those coffees to be great and so I treated myself this festive season to the Jura Ena 8 and I am delighted that I did. Whilst it is more expensive than other at home automatic coffee machines, it is more than worth the extra cash. It’s smaller than most of its competitors but it does more too. It can create barista-quality coffee drinks such as espressos, cappuccinos, flat-whites and latte- machiattos and themaintenance is minimal. I tried all the milk-drinks yesterday and they all taste incredible.

Find out more below.

Milk I’m Loving - Straight From The Farm

We decided as a household, to have milk delivered from a local farm and thedifference in comparison to supermarket milk is noticeable. It’s creamier and sweeter and therefore tastes great in coffees and smoothies and it will also contain more nutrients than milk from supermarkets. It’s also a more ethical option to support local farms. So if you have the option and ability to buy milk straight from a farm, I believe it’s the better choice.

Quote to Ponder

The fairest rules are those to which everyone would agree if they did not know how much power they would have - John Rawls

References

1) Maté, G. (2022) - The Myth of Normal

2) Jura Image - Jura UK