“I’m not the only one.”
I heard the all too familiar confirming relief in each voice on the other end of the line.
This group of strangers had gathered to start a new adventure into the realm of conscious evolution with Barbara Marx Hubbard, back when conscious evolution and spirituality were far less mainstream. Years even, before The Secret.
Common threads wove through each story – we’re the only one in our circle of family and friends who sees the world the way we do, questions the status quo, sees something bigger, and thinks things should – and will be different.
I continue to hear those sighs of relief as waters are gingerly tested when courses begin, posts are made or friendships are formed.
Inner thoughts of “how much and how fast” give way to “thank goodness I found you”.
We are a scattered people finding our way back to each other.
Not through blood lines or proximity, but technology. Physicality is no longer a barrier.
Who and how we are being together, and can be together, is changing.
Our beliefs are changing, pressured to change.
“Family” is stretched far beyond traditional as new variations morph in its place.
“Community” has no guarantees from neighbors or street signs.
“Cultural” lines are blurring as we move and marry to be with one another.
Even “religion” feels the tugs of growing pains as spiritual awareness expands.
The importance of social connectedness won’t change anytime soon. Our health, wellness and evolution depends on being together.
Even if we’re kicking and screaming at times.
The change underway, however, is having to choose our community instead of inheriting one.
Community becomes a decision birthed from knowing who we are and what we truly desire.
Our peeps are out there. We are truly never alone.
Living Bliss is a jump-in-with-both-feet look at where Life bumps into the everyday – whether at work, play or times in between. Bliss knows no separation in the end. From a deeper dive into the ordinary pops forward the extraordinary life we search for – and has been there waiting for us to be.
Not quite a crazy cat lady – yet? – Lorraine’s insatiable curiosity of life leads her to explore, question and push beyond the box. A self-professed “left-brained creative big picture idea” type, she has an intuitive knack for seeing possibility everywhere and in everyone, and is a moth-to-flame for being part of turning possibility into reality. More of Lorraine’s musings can be found on her blog.
Lovely Lorraine! I love the idea that we can all find our peeps! I do wonder, however, if we have lost a little something in not having to create communities with the people around us. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE that I have “peeps” all across the globe but I wonder if I should be doing a better job getting to know and being tolerant of other types of people right in my neighborhood. What do you think?
After starting more than half a dozen replies I think this has the makings of a really great conversation at the kitchen table over amazing food with even more amazing people diving into greater depths until the wee hours of the morning. Mulling through all of my perspectives I’d say my uber short answer is people can’t be forced to belong to a community or see something until they are ready – which might be never in the toughest cases. The verbose version is communities we become part of reflect our needs at the time, and evolve as we evolve. Issues such as intolerance arise because everyone in a physical community doesn’t necessarily have the same physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs and seek fulfillment and affiliations in other groups. So while I think getting to know others up and down the street and a few blocks over is something I value, that’s not necessarily a desire of everyone else, or is held to varying degrees. I know there are communities in the city more closely knit because of ethnicity, culture and religion and they don’t go outside of that. This leads to the question of where do you draw the lines to define a community, and what is the next bigger and smaller community from that. Answers are different from every perspective.(and now we’re at least into the first round of dessert). All that said, I don’t see any reason for people to be disrespectful or unkind to one another. I don’t think we’ll necessarily see communities now like communities of say 100 years ago where needs were more closely tied to pulling together for each others survival. The greater the mixture of people the more complex a community becomes. And I best stop there before we’re watching the sunrise. I think this would be a really great conversation to have on a wider scale if that was possible. I’d love to hear more what you think Kathy, and others too – this is such a rich topic to explore given our experiences and perspectives.
OMG that was long!
I LOVE this conversation!! I don’t have time to write more now… but I’ll be back!!
Beautifully expressed, Lorraine! I love how technology can bring people together and has made it possible for like-minded folks to find each other and commune online. It’s interesting though, that after nearly 8 years of blogging, having a creative online business, sharing photos at Flickr, etc., I find myself wishing to dwell more in the realms of my real life and am spending less time online. Like Kathy, I feel a calling to be working better at the relationships in front of me, while still finding a nice balance of support and friendship online. Lots to consider! :o)
As you point out Tracy, we have more choices Technology has created community in ways it couldn’t exist before, and we’re not limited to a one or a few forms. We have more tools or opportunities to express ourselves and connect the way we are being called to connect. I’ve been thinking of all the movements happening around the world where people are changing societies by mobilizing through technology into a physical location. On a smaller scale, I’ve connected through Bliss Habits with someone who lives a few kilometres down the road, but we haven’t run into each other before now. I’m in awe when I think of the power held within the possibilities from face-to-face through bits and bytes.