We confess -- we’re not the most social of creatures, but even we couldn’t help noticing that people are talking about something called community building. We started wondering what they’re on about, and in the process came across an interesting study that looked at people with Alzheimer’s disease.

All participants in this study were at the same stage of deterioration, according to MRI images of their brains. Yet, some remained symptom-free, while others had difficulty remembering their own full names and addresses. The difference? Those doing well had active and engaging social lives, whereas the others didn’t.

Good communities are not only good for your own health and happiness, they can sometimes be critical for survival, as people in places like Christchurch are discovering, So how you can become an active community participant?

Start with the people you know and like, and supercharge your interactions. Don’t just go to a movie together - conspire together, hatch plots, and plan to save the world. Talk purposefully, talk about what’s in your deepest heart.

If you find out what another person needs, then you’ll know how you can be useful to them. And what you usually find out is that if a friend wants a hand building a fence, there’s probably a demand out there for a fence-building community workshop. Next month, we’ll talk about how to build new connections along those lines.