Day #7: Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? (Author: Cali Harris)
I have been so blessed with community this year. I think my community is where I maintain the hippy side of me. It means a lot to be able to spend time with people who share my beliefs and values (I don't always find this in my scientific world).
As per every year, I again reconnected with a fabulous group of people at Firemaker, a primitive skills retreat that I attend and help organize. This year's mix of people was amazing. I met lots of wonderful new people, but over the week I also deepened my connection to old friends as well. This led me to spend the summer deepening my connection to my "Powell River Peeps" (Jenna, Jamie, Jeremy, & Cedar) and meeting even more new and like-minded people. Powell River was the highlight of my summer and I left feeling rejuvenated in human connection and full of inspiration.
Recently I have reconnected with a community that I have been a part of for five years now. I joined the board of an alternative school that I have worked at on and off for the entire time I have been in university. I will also probably start working there again in the spring. Again, it feels good to connect with like-minded people and be a part of a community that has known me for so long.
I have also greatly enjoyed the small community of my lab. There have been some crazy times (I've learned never to get drunk and argue alternative medicine with a certain person). Yet, the lab is also a place where I get to really let my brain off the leash as it were. I spend my days with some amazingly brillant people and the conversations are always really good brain food. There are more people in the lab this school year than last, and it feels nice to connect with the people I spend most of my time with.
As always, the greatest and most fullfilling connections in life are my family (blood and chosen).
In the coming year I would like to maintain and deepen my connection with all the communities already mentioned. This is a goal that is easy to accomplish as I have much love for all these people. I would really like to cultivate my on-line community this next year. I know that I need interaction and feedback around my creative endeavors. Connecting with other people on-line who are following a similar path seems like a good way to do this. Photography, knitting, and blogging are the three big areas where I plan to do this. I would also like to start going to the local knitting groups to connect with people in real life around creativity. Dragging friends out on photo walks is another place to cultivate this.
I know that no matter what happens in 2011 I will always have the support of an amazing group of friends :)
