This past week in my Nia Dance class we were doing an incredible routine.
As we danced around the room, each completely moving our bodies freely.
Had you told me years ago that I would completely love freedancing? I’d have thought you had to be kidding. But its true.
I let go of control and just let my body move how ever it wants to, without forethought.
There we were dancing around the room and my teacher said.
“This is community”
She speaks of community in Nia often but somehow today it hit me differently.
This was community. A room full of women moving their bodies freely and confidently (something that I’m sure for none of us came easily).
Dancing together in a room to beautiful music. Feeling safe enough in each others presence to dance like no one is watching.
How beautiful is that?
It got me thinking further about the idea of community.
That there is no one way that it looks, feels, is.
Sometimes I hear about friends having hours long deep, connected, sacred phone chats with each other and I get it in my head that that is the way that community looks/feels/is and that if I’m not doing that, there is something wrong with me.
Which is so silly.
I’m an introverted leo (which means you may not be able to see my introversion when you meet me as I have the Leo social energy to me) but its true. I need a lot of time alone. I avoid the telephone if at all possible. Something about skype makes it all so much better, to get to look someone in the eye.
But I simply know that I’m not the kind of person that can do those kind of chats every day, at this point in my life.
That doesn’t mean that I can’t have beautiful community.
There is no one way that community looks.
And whatever kind of community we crave, it is out there somewhere.
It may not look like what we expect either. We don’t have to all be exactly the same or fit into a box.
It may be in an e-course with people from around the world.
It may be ordinary women coming together for a dance class.
It may be looking our neighbours in the eyes and saying good morning.
It may be found in moments of kindness.
It can centre around aspects of our identity or beliefs.
It can be that beautiful deep connection, which for me tends to work best in person, like at an art retreat or workshop.
It can be simple or powerful.
It can be creating together.
Let’s erase some of those stories of what we feel like community might be and the ways we are are outside of it. Let’s rewrite a new story of community and open our eyes to it.