VIDEO: Lending a helping hand

Friendships and social bonds
The key ingredient is simpler than one might think.

The many benefits of living Me to We come directly from the health-giving power of personal relationships. As humans, we have a deep and fundamental need for belonging and social connection. And the best way of meeting this need is through community and social involvement-making friends and helping others.

Solid relationships are built on trust; through spending time getting to know people, by helping friends and through accepting the help of others in return.

Helping also takes many forms. Emotional help, such as listening when a friend needs to talk, is as important as the practical side of helping (like driving someone to the doctor or picking up their mail when they're away on vacation).

Crisis demands action, and the benefits of social connections are never more clearly seen than when we face important life challenges. In rough times, the relationships we have built become our most important assets -- bringing us comfort and reassurance -- and helping us get back on our feet and on with our lives. When friends support friends, a culture of mutual support is built that allows for healthier, and less traumatic, life transitions.

In short, living Me to We involves realizing that every person needs a strong network of friends and supporters and that people are happiest when looking outside of themselves to express empathy and compassion for others.

How does one person make a difference?
Community is the place to start.

This begs the question -- how do I get more involved? How can I begin moving from "me" to "we"? So many of us feel that in our increasingly fast-paced world, we are becoming more isolated, spending more of our time busy, with less time for others. It feels as if we have lost any sense of community, with no idea how to get it back.

However, the message of Me to We is that community is all around us! It is the people we work with, our friends, family and neighbours. In order to rebuild our communities, we need to think deeply about what is truly important in our lives, how we want to spend our time, what values we want to guide our actions, and the legacy we want to leave for our children. By asking these questions and learning to prioritize, we can create the time we need to commit to helping those around us.

Me to We in every day life
Try these actions to get a head start.

To live Me to We, you must simply remember that it's not an idea, but a way of living. The fundamental elements are to get involved, talk to people, spend time with others, be willing to pitch in, and to ask for help when you need support. There is no single best way to live Me to We, and no magic formula for getting started. You need to simply start in your own life, wherever you are, and however possible.

Never forget the power of random acts of kindness. Here are three actions to get you started:

1. Write a letter to someone expressing how much you appreciate them.
2. Knock on a friend's door and invite them for coffee or tea. We guarantee that this surprise visit will brighten up someone's day!
3. Help out a neighbour or a friend by offering to pick up their groceries, run a small errand or to baby-sit their children so they can enjoy a night out.

Me to We support
Contact us will all of your questions.

Me to We requires energy, ideas and maybe even courage, but the payoff is huge: personal growth, happiness, a sense of fulfillment and a longer and healthier life.

If you are interested in finding out more about living Me to We, then please get in touch! Visit www.metowe.org or pick up the bestselling book, Me to We: Turning Self-Help on its Head by Craig and Marc Kielburger.