Importance of Community

I was just reading in the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. He tells the story of a town in Pennsylvania in the 1950s that had no heart disease and in which all the people lived to old age. Even though they had the same bad habits as other people, they didn't suffer the same bad health.

After extensive study of people in this town, it was concluded that the factor that made the difference was their sense of community.

I was also reading an article by Elizabeth Vandenberghe https://www.lds.org/ensign/1994/10/religion-and-the-abundant-life?lang=eng&query=religion about the research she has done on the value of religiosity. Incidentally, years ago I heard her speak and she was a major catalyst for my return to the university and a desire to do research.

What a great blessing it is for me to be part of a family and a religious community in which I am a member, I have shared emotional connection, my needs are integrated and fulfilled, I can have influence and am influenced by, and I get to have responsibilities. It is nice to know that these factors will have more of an influence on my health and happiness than my bad eating habits. Yea for chocolate!