My last post was about community as well.  Read that one too.

By “community” I also mean “culture.”  It’s a group of like-minded individuals who want to accomplish a similar task, and who provide support for one another.

JR Atwood just posted on his PlayThink blog about an article that found that people who trained with others experienced a lower perception of pain than when they trained on their own.

Most of us can relate to this experience.  The run was much easier when we ran it that day with our friend.  The visit to the dentist’s office was much less psychologically difficult when mom was there holding our hand.  The test (or studying for the test) seemed much easier when we had our friends in our class and had a study group with them.

Community, even among two people, lessens the burden, lightens the load, allows for freedom – allows for play.

This is why group exercise has always been really popular (even though we often do it in a way that keeps people separated, standing at their “stations”).  We have a common goal, we suffer a common pain, we pull together, we help one another.  We are able to laugh at our mistakes.

Our culture, however, is one that places high emphasis on individuality, individualism, and individual achievement.  Beware this cultural tendency in yourself.  It isn’t necessary, or necessarily good.  For you, or anyone else.