The Importance of Community

I like to think of myself as a solo flyer, unattached to anyone and anything. "I don't need any strings!" I declare. "I'll make it on my own!"

Right. That's probably the biggest myth I've ever told myself. Ambition, dedication, and dreams only have so much energy when you're alone, which I discovered firsthand.

When I came to Tucson, I was ambitious for the first two months. I was ready to dive into dance lessons, find work to support myself, and hopefully find a partner. However, once I discovered that international style didn't really exist here, I felt very isolated from the dance community. It was like wanting to speak your native language in a foreign country, but no one could understand you and you couldn't understand them. I couldn't understand American style nor this lack of competitiveness...and I didn't want to. I continued to practice on my own after two lessons and a couple social dances, but it all fell away. I didn't know what to do with myself after a while and I felt very confused. I realized that even with a coach, I needed a community and at the very least, a partner.

I came to yoga because of the awesome teachers and students. They encouraged and inspired me. This was a driving reason for me to join and practice. While I still enjoy dancing more than yoga, yoga has given me something that dancing couldn't and because I've stayed with it, I think that says something about what a group of people can offer you.

Having experienced two types of communities here, this is what I've learned:

Community... 


Allows you to utilize many of your talents in one setting. If you're a dancer, you can also be a photographer, a teacher, a clothing designer, a businessman, etc. People will ask you to perform other roles and use your other talents.

Lets you put forth energy and make life worth living. When we can give back, we feel complete. A community lets us absorb and give at the same time.

Lets you develop yourself. We need feedback to improve ourselves in whatever we do. A community offers competition because everyone is at a different level. Seeing yourself in the spectrum lets you improve: you always find something you to work toward.

Gives you an anchor. In order to really grow and change, we need a place to provide stability. A room will stay bare if people come and go frequently (change). Once someone settles (stability), you begin to see decorations, photos, and furniture. You see a home.

Finally, in her book, My Body Is A Temple, Yoga teacher Christina Sell used her teacher's analogy of a soup when talking about community:
"We have our unique attributes and characteristics, but our true purpose is not realized until those attributes are dedicated to the whole; until we didicate our own uniqueness to 'making the soup fantastic.'"

Therefore,

It's not until we dedicate ourselves to the whole that we can realize our full potential. Without a community, you cannot grow. If I've learned anything while being in Tucson, it is this.