community

We live in amazing times. We know more than humans have ever known. We see more than humans have ever seen. We experience more than most humans have ever experienced. We love differently than humans in the past and I think we love more passionately. We have to carve out our own families in our communities and we are almost always seeking that perfect place where we fit into a tribe because many of us (not me) leave our families behind and have to create them around us. Thankfully, for us, we get the best of both worlds.

Yesterday, I was witness to one of the most powerful community gatherings I have ever been a part of. It was a deeply sad funeral rite to bless a dear father and husband who passed away on New Year's Eve and send him to the ethers with the love he so experienced while walking here in this life. I didn't know him well, though I wish now that I had. His wife is my sister in dance. Once a Shakti, always a Shakti. And she and I have walked together among many circles here in this small town. I feel honored to have been among the love she received from the community yesterday. The service was beautiful with poems and thoughts read by some of their closest friends, and music sung and played by some of their closest friends. It was a service that expressed the joy of having known Thomas and what he brought to this world. After the service was over and the people began to clear, many of the women came together and sang to Melissa and held her and stood witness for her as she cried. It was raw. It was gut wrenching. There was no one in the room without tears also in their eyes for the pain she was feeling and knowing that the future is uncertain and the fear that comes with that. I sat there as we sang words of love to her and I thought to myself, what a joy to know that in times of great sorrow this community/tribe jumps in without fear to lift and love and care for those we love and how grateful I am for being a part of that. My family extends far past my immediate family and I look forward to helping to lend a hand as my sister in dance needs it and I look forward to walking the red road with these people whom I have chosen as my tribe because I know through the good times and the bad, they will always be there to catch me, just like we are here to catch Melissa, when she needs it most. What a blessing to know love like that exists in my small town.