It Takes a Village

Photo Credit: Mark Gonzalez

      I use to think that the road to success was a one man victory. But I’m learning more and more that no one reaches any sort of lasting success without an amazing support team around them.

     I mean, this morning, upon waking up, I received one of thee most encouraging text messages from one of my dear friends and writing accountability partner/encourager. I’m well aware that trying to write over the weekend is quite the task for me, at times almost impossible.  And I’ve finally admitted to myself, that I can’t do this on my own. And now, I don’t think I want to.

     There’s something to be said about sharing a victory rather than hoarding it and trying to own it single-handedly.

     And then I think about how that not only applies to my short-term goal of writing 30 posts in 30 days, but how it applies to my romance journey thus far.

     I cannot tell you how many girlfriends who have let me cry on their shoulders, how many amazingly kindhearted prayer warriors wept with me in the midst of my heartbreak and disappoint and how many of you dear readers have put up with hearing me talk about my fruitless crushes over the last few years.

     But this has made all the difference. 

     And it will make my romance victory that much sweeter.

     However, even in the trenches, I’m experiencing love and healing and growth—in ways that I didn’t even know that I needed.

     But if you feel like you are in the trenches alone, chances are, you are.

     But you don’t have to be.

     Communication is a two-way street. You must be willing to let the people in your life, your inner circle know what’s really going on with you. Yes, I know, there’s a challenge already presented in this, the challenge of being humble and flat out real.

     But this is vital. Absolutely vital.

     And if your inner circle isn’t capable of being a true support system, it’s time to reevaluate who you are actually calling “friend” in your circle of relationships. 

     And  it’s okay, everyone is not meant to be in your inner circle, but someone should be.

     We were not meant to thrive alone.

     We were meant to thrive together.

Wisdom’s Knocking:

“I alone cannot change the world,
but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

- Mother Theresa

Community

     Photo Credit: Ashley Johnson

     No not the show, although it's definitely growing on me. I was just thinking about the importance of community this week.

     Like how important it is to find your tribe, your entourage.

     But as it is with most close knit communities, it takes time. It takes a great deal of time to gain history with the people around you.

     My generation and city thrive on being transient, traveling from one place to another, fulfilling our vagabond desires and passions of curiosity.

     But in all our adventures, we can miss the simplicity of authentic community. We go out of our way to create language and Facebook connections to make it appear as though we have a close knit tribe of some sort. But in actuality we are still lonely. We are desiring to share our lives on a deeper level, with someone with much closer proximity.

     And then I think of how I grew up. I lived in the same city during my childhood and teen years. I went to the same school from kindergarten to my senior year in high school with a majority of the same kids. We have history. And a unique sense of community that grounds us.

     As much as you and I try to create community wherever we go, there are just some things that will never change. You can't microwave a process that's meant to be in an oven. You'll come up with something soggy, half-cooked, and ultimately unsatisfying.

     In order to gain the riches of true community, a true entourage, you have to be willing to put in the time, to gain real history, to know the same stories, to get frustrated but choose to stay anyway because you know it's worth it.

     But as long as we keep running, without roots...we'll just keep running....without roots.

Wisdom's Knocking:

Life is better shared.