More than I’ve ever seen before in my life, there are people–young and old–talking about the importance of community-building and the concrete steps into takes to bring people together in reciprocity and solidarity. These steps are so important, but if you’re like me, maybe you look around you and don’t see a community to join.

Maybe you aren’t surrounded by like-minded individuals…yet. Here is where the conversation hits a dead end, unless we shift the lens and explore the role of self in community-building.

Your Passions Exist For A Reason

One of the most beautiful parts about humanity is how different we each are. Some people are passionate about gardening and the local environment. Some are amazing pianists. Some are incredibly fascinated by how grandfather clocks work. These examples barely scratch the surface of what makes us unique, diverse, and incredible.

And, we share similarities. While expressed in different ways, we have the same needs. We need to nourish our physical bodies, we need to be safe, we need to feel a sense of connection with one another–community helps us (has always helped us) meet our needs.

If you are passionate about joining and building communities that are thriving, diverse, and resilient, then that passion exists for a reason, too.

It’s because you are meant to help build those communities.

Trusting this call and purpose is another matter entirely. We are human, and our minds are very powerful. We may tell ourselves stories such as “I’m not experienced enough to build a community” or “no one cares about what I care about, so why even bother”. To learn more about strategies and thought experiments for mental health, check out my most recent article.

Getting beneath these mental stories and uncovering the authentic desires they try to hide is exactly how we start to deepen our connection to self and make choices grounded in alignment. This is the doorway–the pathway–we must walk as individuals if we seek to build equally authentic and aligned communities.

If you’re looking for a space to practice being in community with others, that’s exactly the space I am cultivating with A Practice In Being. I’d love for you to join me in this community-building practice.

Exploring The Role Of Self In Community-Building

When I first started Vibrant Systems, I knew I was taking on a monumental task. I felt a call to interweave personal growth with community-building. Yet, those domains were distinctly separate. The life coaches were not talking to the community consultants.

I faced a lot of doubts and limiting beliefs about the path I chose to walk. But I didn’t stop walking.

Vibrant Systems has emerged out of my willingness to walk my path and explore myself as a doorway to the vision I hold. Every moment I spent in self-reflection and in challenging myself to expand my comfort zone has helped me build my business into what it is becoming.

My personal growth was my business growth.

And community is the same.

I often say that my mission in Vibrant Systems has three pathways: connection to self, connection to others, and connection to the environment. Community is the overarching theme in all three mission pathways.

Community is the vision.

If I was going to be able to ground this vision in reality, I needed to become the person who could anchor it.

This is the basic tenet behind the role of self in community-building.

I needed to become this person from a place so deeply rooted in my own authenticity that I was steady enough to move through the doubts, challenges, and obstacles in my path. I needed to develop self-awareness, balance, and self-love. I needed to be able to motivate myself and talk myself through the frightening and even hopeless times so I could emerge stronger on the other side.

I needed to be able to forgive myself for my mistakes and to release the shame I carried about being imperfect.

The process of deepening into connection and relationship with myself is ongoing, but I know I could not have neglected this part of the path and still be here writing this article for you today.

If you’re holding a vision for community, if you’re passionate about bringing people together, or if you want to make an impact in the world, then I urge you not to neglect the personal growth this doorway opens up.

How Does Vibrant Systems Support The Self In Community-Building?

The truth is an abundance of personal growth resources, journal prompts, or therapy options. Very few of these resources are created and offered with community-building in mind. Most replicate the hyper-individualist belief that we are entirely responsible for our own happiness, and if we can’t muscle our way through the structural inequality, then we’re the problem.

Elements of Self doesn’t do that.

When I first created Elements of Self, I was still organizing the pieces of Vibrant Systems. I knew this video course was important because the content had helped me transform my relationship with myself. But I didn’t see how it could connect to community consulting. At the time, I was still finding clarity on what makes my business and my vision unique.

Six months later, when consulting has transformed into Community Mentorship, and I can feel myself moving from a place more deeply rooted than before, I know where my video course, Elements of Self, fits.

Elements of Self is a 6-module video course that interweaves the four elements with the corresponding parts of ourselves. This course walks you through stories, meditations, and reflections to deepen your understanding of your relationship to the parts of you: your body, your emotions, your mind, and your spirit. In this deepening awareness is the opportunity to restore balance to your selfhood, and in that balance, you can grow in authenticity rather than fear or limitation.

In many ways, Elements of Self invites you to see yourself and your needs as an ecosystem. But like an ecosystem, the self is never really isolated. We are always part of a larger, global community.

If you are one of those people called into community-building, Elements of Self is the pathway towards your vision that grounds your personal growth in curiosity and expansion. Every step you take to deepen your connection to yourself, your unique needs, and your inner balance expands your capacity to connect with others more deeply.

Elements of Self is a pathway towards personal growth, yes. But it is so much more than that when we move the lens towards community.

If you’re ready to claim your space, then I invite you to join me in the Vibrant Shop.

Let’s make your story a vibrant one.