Hello beautiful people and welcome to this dose of Celestial Goodness. As always, thank you for joining me in this space and on this journey. It has been about two months since I posted anything, so if you are still here, thank you. You can see this week’s video here: https://youtu.be/dq4oa6sziRk
Thank you for your patience, and for understanding the ebbs and flow that come along with creating, writing, thinking deeply about life and everything that comes along with that.
Thank you for understanding that as a human being, living, working, experiencing the range of emotions, feelings, and situations that one can, that life has felt as though it were both moving at an accelerated pace, and also moving slowly, and I thank you just for understanding the need that we have as humans to take breaks from the things that we feel deeply passionate about, so that we can come back to it, more devoted, more focused, and more inspired.
I feel everything so deeply, and there are so many things to absorb myself in these days, that with only one of me, and not being “artificial intelligence,” I have to make decisions on what gets done. The natural hierarchy is for the things that allow me to take care of myself, and to live, but in the last many weeks, I have also invested a lot of time and energy into my various communities.
For the last few years, the notion of community has been at the forefront of my mind. What is it? Who is it? What makes a strong and healthy community? How do we create community? Nurture it? Allow it to grow organically and to be what it needs to be at a time such as this?
Recently, I went to dinner with some dear friends, and one of them said to me, “Where is Celestial Goodness… you need to pop in…” We laughed, but it meant a lot to me. When I had the vision for this blog and channel, it was with the notion that we would be a community. That this would be a safe space, a sacred space for love, joy, peace, and endless reminders of the beauty in life, and the importance of your presence here. The Celestial Goodness community, is one that I am dedicated to as well, and it means a lot that you have spent your time here.
Now, if you were to look up the definition for the work “community,” lots of things would pop up. One of the definitions that I like says, “a feeling of fellowship with others as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.” It sort of makes me think of Lord of the Rings, or any epic journey where someone is fighting for the good of mankind. The lesson is always that we can’t do it alone, we can’t go it alone. Even for those people out there who are fiercely independent and like to be alone for the most part, ultimately you still need people.
Community can also be the sharing of a physical space, a spiritual place, or even an emotional space. For me, community is about people, no matter where I am. There are many dimensions to me, many aspects of my life, and the people who I cross paths with matter. My community matters, my dear friends and family matter very much. I never view an encounter with someone as random or coincidental. We have either met for a lesson, a blessing, season, or lifetime as the old saying goes. It is also my view that you can meet someone for even a brief moment who could have a profound impact on your life.
So, my last many weeks have been filled with community. I have been communing with, attending to, and tending to the communities that I am a part of. The take away is that I am immensely blessed to know some of the world’s best people, and the way we have all been able to pour into each other has been a beautiful thing indeed.
Where my family is from in Jamaica, is the kind of place where everyone knew everyone…someone could look at you and know who your parents or grandparents were. When my family moved to America, there was a lonelier aspect to it because we didn’t know all of the people around us. As a matter of fact, it can get weird if you are the weirdo from the Midwest, making eye contact and saying hello to people everywhere you go. Ha. I won’t stop.
I am reminded that when I went to visit my cousin in Bermuda, people expect whole conversations in passing. I would just say good morning. One day, Toya turned to me and said, “You have to make eye contact with people. Here everyone says more than just good morning.” I said, “I am a nice person, I swear.
I think the city life just made me more don’t make eye contact, and mind your business.” I do feel that people especially after the global pandemic, are starved for human connectivity. We want to know the neighbors (and shout out to my own very cool neighbors), we want to talk to people, hear their stories, and know how their day went. We want to feel as though we are part of something bigger than ourselves, and we are. Please don’t forget this.
Wherever I go, I tend to collect people, and we make a community for ourselves. I like the shared bond that we have as people occupying similar spaces. So here is my directive to you—think about your people, the people that fill you with the most love, care, and that help you to be your most authentic and joyful self. Think about the spaces where you can be, just be, where you can flow, and thrive and know that you belong. Now think about how you can make more spaces like that. How can you create community where you are? How can you show up for your people? How can you expand the communities that you are in?
In the last weeks, I have spent an abundance of time with some of the best people. We have laughed, cried, discussed serious things, and silly things like the endless reels on Instagram. I have come up close and personal with death, but I have also seen babies coming into the world, ready to express whatever little personalities they will grow into. I have had intimate conversations with people who trust me to safeguard dreams, goals, desires, and vision. I have also been reminded, when faced with my own anxieties, sadness, or angst that there are kindred souls who will show up for me too. In an article I read in the NYC some months ago, it said that people who tended to their relationships with others, lived longer happier lives. It feels sometimes like we don’t have much to offer to this, but committing to our community isn’t always a big endeavor. The article said, start scheduling 8 minute calls with your friends. Tell them, this will be eight minutes, and set a timer. Just start making and tending to the connections in your life.
Poet John Donne said this, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of they friends’ or of thine own were. Any man`s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”I am involved in mankind. We all are.
I hope that wherever this week finds you, that you will take a moment to think about the communities that you are in. What do you love? What makes you feel gratitude? Is there anything you want to change? Is there anything you want to do more of? Who are the people that help you do this life thing? Shout out to them, right?!? And a special shout out to my people—my community, my friends, my family, who inspire me every day with love, with realness, with genuine care for me—the real me. I appreciate you immensely. May the stars shine brightly over your week, and may it be a beautiful week indeed
Celestial Goodness 