Tuesday, December 7, 2010

#Reverb10: Community

A little late in the game, but better late than never....

December 7 – Community Prompt: 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?

When I think about the "communities" I belong to and am excluded from (by choice or otherwise), not much has evolved over this year. Except one: becoming a part of the community of words, with their shared  powerful, and life-altering ownership we all have over them.

Last January,  I was having probably my fourth or fifth quarter-life crisis. Boyfriend gone. Job in the dumps.  A foreboding gloom in my mind that matched the early twilight of winter. My stepmother had such a simple proposal. Take three months and don't make any decisions. Figure out what you want for yourself.

And so I did, and started a blog in the process. I found the "community" of words and ways to use them in a way where I could create, reflect, and be honest when I couldn't  in other communities I belonged to. And I found other people who felt similarly. Reading others' "community of words" helped me see the world in different ways, and forced me to think about who I wanted to be.

Communities can be seen as concrete, physical places. But to me, communities are also in the shared ownership we all have with words; how we use them,  how they continually change and challenge us to think beyond what we see, but rather what we feel...

As I see 2011 on the horizon, I wonder what's in store for and what communities I have yet to be a part of. During the tail end of this year, I began to run more diligently than usual, and hating it less and less. I even completed my first 10K! I realized that the hard work and dedication you put forward using your body makes you feel better inside and out.

So when I think about how I pushed the mental, creative part of me this year, I wonder how I could challenge my physical, corporeal capabilities this year. It may be a disaster, but I know I'll have this community of words. I'll always have somewhere to belong.

2 comments:

  1. wish I'd added the community of words to my taxonomy of communities. I like the designation, maybe because I spend so much time there. Instead I ended up making lists of communities and classifications, making final wordfall more or less by chance on voluntary vs involuntary

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  2. yay! so glad you are joining in...and yes, we always have our words, no matter what. and that is a very good thing indeed.

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