build community

Build community wherever you go.  

Build community...

This phrase is a charge given to her young nuns by Saint Angela Merici many years ago.  I was first introduced to Angela while working at a small Catholic women's college some years ago, though Angela's focus on community will stick with me always.  Angela understood long before feminism the importance of a strong network of women and the role women play in each other's lives - a role of nurture and compassion and affirmation.  

I was so warmly reminded of how beautiful communing with women often is at gladsome this past weekend.  Strangers quickly became connected partners in creating, important constants in our own personal journeys.  How quickly and beautifully this community of women came to trust, to share, to shape, to inspire, to hold, and to encourage one another.  This short pause in time taken with intention by each woman in the group.  This short opportunity to breathe that will lead us deeper into our true, authentic self.  This shared and common experience that will forever tie us in spirit to one another.

I am so thankful to have shared this second gladsome retreat with this new group of women.  I am thankful that each woman opened herself to the experience.  I am thankful for the gifts I had to offer and how warmly they were received.  This is truly humbling, to know I've touched the lives of others.  A powerful surprise and reminder of how important it is to make good use of these gifts.

I am just...thankful for gladsome!