Practicing Community
passionate rabbit hole series: 001
You knowww. This year?
This year has truly challenged every facet of my being. I dare say, challenged the facet of the collective spirit which would of course lead to human beings that care about human beings to feel it tenfold as we live through some of the worst historical events in our time bracket. It’s so easy to feel like I’m failing at community, at love, and with myself. I have to remind myself that this is due to all of these different sectors of my life being challenged to be deconstructed under capitalism.
I’m learning that when it comes to capitalism, knowing what’s behind the veil is one thing. But living your life in pursuit of pulling it down is something else entirely.
Giving a true f*ck is hard. Not because the act itself is difficult, but because choosing to care about love, justice, and peace through the lens of community is not an act that is supported by the society we live in. This would mean we have to find people who share our willingness to embark on the journey of decentering capitalism and all of it’s individualistic-isolating politics. The more I unpack this with family and friends, the more we embarrassingly embrace the fact that as a society, we are very out of practice when it comes to community functioning.
A big part of our collective suffering is directly associated with the fact that we aren’t prepared to deal with the inevitable disappointment(s) that we will both receive from, and bring to one another. We’ve lived so much of our lives by the expectations of systems that asks of us not to consider much outside of ourselves and how we can climb the societal food chain. Tricked into thinking in order to survive it at all, we have to find where we fit on the wheel that we know is the source of our suffering. It can make us be on both the tail end and front end of some very selfish behavior. It’s all by design. Many of us have survived all of this time by looking out for self.
I suppose, “if I don’t, who else will” is a valid concern to have. But I suggest, we take it a step further and find our people. Find the people we know can stand in the gap in the moments that we are collapsing under the weight of trying to hold it all together. Because we all know those moments are abundant in this life.
Community Building Reading List
Community Building Journal/Brainstorm Prompts:
How do you hold yourself accountable in showing up for your community?
What is the standard you have in your community showing up for you?
How do you lovingly correct loved ones in your life who have hurt/disappointed you?
What is your dream for your loved ones?