The power of online community 💞
For a long time I believed that real community had to happen in person.
After all, I'd spent years building it. Moms' groups. Homeschool groups. My art studio in Cotati. Residential retreats.
There is something irreplaceable about sharing a room with people.
And yet...
Some of the deepest friendships in my life began online.
Back in 2013, I joined an online photography community. We never even met on Zoom. We simply shared our photographs, our stories, and our lives inside a Facebook group.
Thirteen years later, many of those women are still my friends. Some I've met in person. Some I haven't. We shared our stories and images in such vulnerability, such intimacy. I still feel the threads that connect us.
Then, when I came out at 56, another online community became a lifeline. Suddenly I found out I wasn't the only one. There were folx all over the world asking the same questions I was asking. We were there for each other at such a pivotal time. People who understood this very particular moment in a life…one that most people don’t experience (especially at an older age!).
It reminded me that what creates connection isn't geography.
It's honesty.
It's showing up.
It's being witnessed.
That's exactly the kind of community I'm creating inside my Next Big Thing.
Some members will eventually meet in person. Some never will.
But I have no doubt that either way they'll care for each other, cheer each other on, and know each other deeply.
Because I've seen that kind of belonging grow before.
Turns out, the miles between us matter a lot less than the willingness to show up for one another.
