Hello Neighbor, Let's Be Friends
Whether you've recently relocated or you're deeply rooted, we are all experience the trials and tribulations of forging new friendships. Boundary Waters Connect offers programs and services designed to help residents of northeastern Minnesota forge authentic connections. We invite you to consult the list of resources below.
This Substack post by Marisa G. Franco is a great resource for someone looking for quick tips & tricks.
This episode of the Ezra Klein Show features Priya Parker, author of The Art of the Gathering. TLDR: Host gatherings that don't make you clench up inside!!!
Therapy is marvelous. But the proliferation of “therapy speak” into all realms of our life contributes to the hyper individualization and degradation of community life. How do we create boundaries and self care that include the difficult work of dealing with other people? Community Care!
This Tik Tok video addresses the importance of accepting dread as a part of the process of making friends.
This article introduces the notion of friendship markets and encourages folks to participate in theirs.
People often say it takes a village to do difficult things: raise a child, sustain a community, build a barn. But we don’t talk a lot about what it takes to be a villager. What does it mean not just to be in a community, but to help create one?
Key Resources
Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make -- and Keep -- Friends by Marisa G. Franco
Although the process of making friends can be uncomfortable and difficult at first, it is worth it. “...even though being vulnerable, affectionate, and making time was uncomfortable, the benefits outweighed the costs.”