In February of this year, Jennifer Peters organized a meeting, where more than 130 people turned up to connect. Many of these people were new residents, so they were part of the migration from the city to rural communities. Interestingly participants were asked to identify not their names but their interests. It is our interests that bring us together. 

Moving to a small community is much more than merely trading an expensive house for a cheaper one. It is also to leave the anonymity of big city life for a community where people know and care for you. In town, when you walk along a path, it’s eyes down as you pass people. Here, it’s rude not to wave or even stop and share dog stories. In town, you don’t go to the bank. Here, you chat with the teller and others in the lineup. 

Such social interactions are vital for our health and well-being. All “Blue Zone” communities, those with very long-lived healthy people, are highly social, with a strong sense of belonging and shared participation. This describes our own community and may be why many active and sprightly elders in Knowlton exist. Louis Pagé, whom Tempo wrote about last month, aged 100, still drives for Wellness Lac Brome’s Meals on Wheels program. 

If you wish to strengthen your connections and find more meaning now that you are a resident of Town of Brome Lake, becoming a volunteer like Louis Pagé is the best next step. Volunteering shifts your relationships here from weak to strong. Volunteering transforms you quickly into a participant and so offers you meaning as well as fellowship. No matter what your interests are, there is an organization here that is for you. 

Robert Paterson