Self-Care Corner: Building a Village

I read a quote recently that stuck with me: “Everyone wants a village, but no one wants to be a villager.”

At its core, it’s about connection. Community. Something I know I’ve always craved.

If you’ve ever run into me in public, you probably know I’ll talk to anyone. I’ll catch up with someone in the grocery store aisle like we’ve got nowhere else to be. I’ve shown up late to things more than once because I got pulled into a conversation with someone who mattered in that moment. That’s who I am now.

But that wasn’t always the case.

There was a time when I was closed off. I still wanted connection, probably needed it even more, but I was too guarded to reach for it. I convinced myself that staying protected meant staying safe. In reality, that same defense mechanism was keeping me from the very thing I was craving.

There is an epidemic of loneliness. In an age where most of our communication and information is received through technology, it is possible to be constantly connected and still feel completely alone. Liking stories and scrolling through reels is low effort, and because of that, it often leads to low-impact connection.

That is part of why I practice small conversations.

My neighbor is outside washing his car and I pull up and make a joke. The person next to me in the store is struggling to reach something and I offer a hand. These moments are simple, but they matter. In my opinion, this is where humanity still lives. In those brief, unplanned interactions where we actually see each other.

Truly opening up and talking to people takes effort. It takes intention. Sometimes it is as simple and as difficult as being honest. And honesty, more often than not, is vulnerability.

That is where we build our village. That is where we build community.

For me, self-care is not always about stepping away. Sometimes it is about leaning in. It is choosing connection when it would be easier to withdraw. It is letting people in, even when part of me wants to keep the door closed.

Because the truth is, the village does not just appear when we need it. We build it one conversation, one moment, one act of vulnerability at a time.