Day 127: Lead the afflicted and addicted…

Earlier this week I heard someone categorize two types of connecting with others – water cooler and campfire (thanks, TP). This week I felt and lived the campfire experience multiple times, none more deeply than this morning.

This morning was band practice. A time where we get together and practice schole – the leisurely pursuit of what is good and true, as I learned this week (thanks, Mom!). AND a time where we all gather around our band campfire and “be with.” We come with no walls, no defensiveness, only the earnest aim of belonging (deeply connecting) and becoming (distinctly individual).

There was one melody line in particular this practice – the power of a lone to all one. It hit home when one bandmate shared his observation with another. He shared how he had watched him change in the short few months since he joined the band. He came in guarded, wounded, on edge. And now? This uncommon warrior is all love. He gives it and receives it with a calm presence.

The warrior shared his take on that transformation. He’s found his campfire and he’s sitting around it with his people. He belongs, for the first time in awhile.

Isn’t that what we all want at the end of the day? To belong with those that truly “get us”? The ones who love us so deeply they are helping us become who we really are? I’ve found deep community and I’m building more every day. What a frickin gift that I will not take for granted.

If that’s what you want, then model the way. Invite others in. Share deeply and practice connecting. Stop trying to fix others, love them. Tune in and listen to what they’re saying. They’ve got their way and their why inside them, just like you. Get them comfortable enough to find their voice and listen to it, just like you. Bring them around your campfire. Love. More.