DEC 7 2010

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? (Author: Cali Harris)
I have discovered community through Yoga.
I was a traveling gypsy for most of my late teens and all throughout my 20's. I felt community in fragments throughout these years, like I belonged to something but it was always dressed in a very different costume and set on a very different stage. It was a community that felt full sometimes and deeply lonely at other times. It was lacking truth and I felt that my membership was conditional.
I found Yoga (or it found me) during this time and I was just grazing the surface of what it meant to turn inside as I only did so for a short period of time as I practiced postures as preparation for performance. Over time, I began to experience my true self and clear away the dust that clouded my visibility. It seemed like a natural transition to devote myself to this practice.
I went to India. I felt like my head exploded. I studied religion and culture and Yoga in an ashram over a span of a few months. It felt more real than anything else and as I practiced to strip away the layers of past habits and conditions, I saw it quite clear. My true destiny: to share this gift with others. I felt like I was in the right place, on the right road, that I was a part of a community of like minded people who share the same preferences that I do, the same intent and a belief system that rang true and deep within my heart.
Since then, I discovered community in the very place I was running from. I was weary to return home to the city I grew up in and had been away from for a decade in search for something greater. In that very same place, I had realized that I was a part of this community no matter my geographical location and that what I found in India could never be lost. I began to see that community was everywhere. My idea of community expanded beyond participants and like minded individuals. To me community is the entire universe connecting and pulsating energy as one.
In 2011 I would like to see myself and others continue to join in this infinite community, creating it in each moment and more deeply connecting together.