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Community has always been of the utmost importance to me. Even as a young child, being part of a crew mattered to me. Feeling like I wasn’t “normal” or part of the “right” community fueled a lot of my teen angst. I walked the line between part of the cool kids and the Nerd Herd (yes, I crafted that awful name for the smart girls though I was very much one of them. The leader, in my mind, was my nemesis but is also my oldest and best friend.) Later, I tried to find my place amongst fellow black students at Columbia, but found my sexuality and spiritual leanings positioned me on the fringes, despite being a well-known campus leader.
As an adult, those dichotomous relationships have led me to be more introverted. I don’t mean that I’m shy, but instead I’m very careful about with whom and when I spend my time. I crave solitude and need it to re-charge. I can always gauge my mental health by how extreme I am with this introversion. When I haven’t left the house for months on end except for work or to do things with my family, I’m not in a healthy place. When I push myself to keep my friend dates, respond to text messages and IMs, I’m doing much better.
I no longer need the validation of community—I’ve done a lot of work to figure out Who and Whose I am, and I am content in that. Now, community serves the deeper purpose for me; it raises my vibrations. To explain that, I have to go back to the beginning.
I believe…
1- We are all spiritual beings made up of energy that is divinely inspired.
2- Divinity is the essence of all energy.
3- Part of our life’s mission is to connect to the Source—God, Spirit, or however you want to acknowledge the most Divine. We raise our connection by raising our consciousness (the knowing of our true essence) and our energy (the “stuff” that behind our action, the movement of the divinity within us).
4- You know you are in the “knowing” and raising your vibrations when you are in the “zone” where there is no thinking, no internal manipulations, no processing, just Being. This is where we are during prayer, meditation, acupuncture, sexing, creating (dancing, writing, singing, sculpting, sewing).
5- We also raise our “knowing” and vibrations when we are surrounded by spiritual energy—nature, conscious friends, water, etc.
I have been so blessed over this past year to really craft my tribes. I have my Write To Know sisters, my Twitter Crew, my Fitness Collective, and my Bestest Sisters from Another Mother. This week has been especially powerful, not just because I’m in a better place emotionally, but because I’ve had the chance to really Be with my tribes. All that positive energy has me full, grateful, and in bliss.
Reflection Questions for You
1- What role does community serve for you? What have you learned about yourself as a result of your proximity to community?
2- When has fellowship been good? When has it been bad?
3- How do you connect to God? How do you know?
4- Have you connected with your tribes recently?
Editor's Note: The fact that I wrote this morning is proof that I completed Day 2 of my fitness challenge. See my lit of consequences and rewards for working out here.