I was reminded while visiting with some friends from the Adirondack Mountain Club that as humans we need to gather and be social. This should not have been a surprise but given the circumstances of this meeting, it brought to light this basic human need. ADK Mountain Club chose the Biergarten in South Glens Falls as their first meeting post-Covid. The members, due to Covid and busy schedules, had been almost exclusively meeting in the Zoom format. I think they were pleasantly surprised not only how much more enjoyable the meeting was in person but also the productiveness of the meeting. (I think the beautiful evening, beer and food didn’t hurt!)
We all know Zoom meetings were extremely useful for many reasons, yet most of us would agree, there is something much more meaningful about the human-to-human contact that was missed…and science agrees!
First, the human brain is large for our relative size as a mammal. Most anthropologists have agreed that our large brains developed, in part, due to our need to be socially dependent animals. We need each other! The extra brain size is because we had to develop social skills for survival and cooperative interactions. Humans could not have evolved without being socially astute animals.
It’s also been proven that social gatherings are better for our health. Covid aside, the idea of getting together with other humans is good for your health. The Blue Zone Project…which looks at contributing factors that affect one’s health and why some people in the world live to over 100 years of age, found that one of the universal contributing positive factors is the ability to have meaningful social interactions and relationships. This is especial important to us as we get older and often become more isolated.
The Burning Man Project was recently studied by some sociologists from Yale. Burning Man gatherings and others like it in the rest of world, were found to help people feel more of a connection with humanity and become more willing to help distant strangers. It is what Emile Durkheim called “collective effervescence” …a transformative experience that helps people transcend the borders of self and connect with all of humanity.
Looking at the headlines lately, I think we can agree that we could all use some more connection and empathy for what other humans on the planet are dealing with now.
That said, all of us at Common Roots perhaps innately understood that good things can happen when we gather, especially over delicious beer and food. All our spaces at Common Roots have been designed with the idea that people need a positive setting to gather and keep building that collective effervescence. (BTW…sounds like a good beer name!)
Gathering together is good for your health, makes you smarter and probably a better person! All kidding aside, we plan to keep gathering for social good and we hope you’ll consider Common Roots as a place to gather for your next event.
Cheers to Summer Gatherings!
