How Can I Find Community?

Top Tips from a Pro ;)

Perhaps the most common lament I hear from people getting started in a healthy new raw vegan lifestyle is, “There is NO ONE in my area (doing this)!” I imagine the same holds true for just about any uncommon lifestyle interest. Twenty-one years ago, when the idea of living a raw vegan lifestyle caught fire in me, my home was in Michigan and I did not know of a single person in my town with this same interest. Not one. At first, I didn’t even think about this, as I was so focused on reading, studying, and traveling to spend time - in seminars and at festivals - with the most prominent leaders of the time. I was ALL-IN, and I wanted to be in the presence of the masters - those folks who already had what I really wanted.

In time though, as I settled into my new lifestyle, in my northern hometown, I wanted local companions on the journey with me. I had already been offering a homeschoolers’ program and yoga classes in my home, so it wasn’t much of a stretch to imagine holding raw vegan potlucks there as well. I made a simple invitational flier which I hung on the community bulletin boards at three local health-food stores. The first potluck attracted three people. We had inspired, satisfying conversation and connection, and I decided to offer monthly potlucks. Gradually, the word got out and more and more people began to come. We grew a group of ‘regulars,’ and we became friends. New people continued to find us. Holding the event consistently encouraged commitment, and a sense of a growing community.

From this humble beginning sprouted ideas for workshops and seminars, invitations to regular public speaking opportunities, and requests for private coaching. It wasn’t long before I was visualizing full-on international tropical retreats, which came to fruition in Costa Rica. For me, it was all morphing organically into a passionate but uncharted livelihood, and I summoned the courage to accept this invitation for growth, and to stay the course in this divine upward spiral.

If I had not had a home appropriate for sharing, I believe I would have sourced alternative meeting spaces, such as public parks, churches, schools or other community buildings…or someone else’s house. My point here, is that when we truly desire something, we will actively work to overcome any resistance, and we will step into our full powers of resourcefulness. If we are NOT doing this, it’s usually because there is a competing desire to stay ‘safe’ and small.

In a few years, my dream of country-living was realized, and with 5 acres and a larger home, my instinct was to share on a larger scale! I took on health-minded tenants, and realized another dream of a 30-foot yurt on the property. This became a hot-bed of community events such as raw vegan potlucks, classes and retreats, yoga, drum-circles, sound-healings, full-moon kirtans (chanting), permaculture, men’s and women’s groups. Again, the evolution of this felt quite organic - all I knew at first was that I really, really wanted to experience the energetics of a yurt! I actually wanted it to be our home, to live in with my children, but the county would not approve that plan. So we built it anyway, with friends, not knowing what or who it was for, and it naturally became a magical, beloved community gathering space for about 8 years.

I began spending time in Florida long before I could see an opening to live here. In this interim time, I returned mostly to the same area each winter, and I began to make connections with people I resonated with there. When it was finally time to relocate to Florida, I had already paved the way for myself to have a sense of community when I landed. I chose the central village-like district of a small seaside town, where I can walk or ride my bike to many of my nature, social or shopping destinations. This encourages community-building, since I often stop to chat with friends and neighbors I naturally encounter along my route (friendly Florida weather also helps!).

Once my move was completed, I had an idea to start a private facebook group in order to facilitate communication with others interested in hosting raw vegan potlucks. That simple seed has sprouted into an active group with nearly 150 members living close enough to attend the potlucks. Actual attendance at any one potluck event is usually between 20-30 people. I also moved my Living Heart Sanctuary from the yurt in Michigan to my home in Florida, where I host events and also offer guest-rooms and services for personal healthy retreats.

Most people naturally develop at least several different communities in their lives - family, workplace, church, online, particular activity-groups, etc. Is it actually more difficult when the area of interest in which you are seeking community is very uncommon? Not necessarily! My experience within my (international) raw vegan “fruit tribe” is that we truly need each other all-the-more, since we are a rarer commodity, and many of us will make big efforts to get together, even traveling long distances when necessary. Our reunions tend to be quite passionate, and new connections deepen quickly, because our particular journey requires a lot of courage, and we readily see that in each other.

I hope that my sharing about my own experiences in finding community will be helpful to my readers. Sometimes I venture out looking for like-minded community to join, and often I send out a clear signal and draw it toward me instead. Nearly all human beings yearn for some level of community. Listening inwardly for what it is that you are truly desiring is a great first step. I know that I prioritize having ready access to the kind of community I feel at ease in, where I can freely be myself and be appreciated for that. Long ago, I moved with husband and young children into a ‘Co-housing’ community where we lived happily for several years, and recently, with my children grown and on their own, I chose the small, quirky seaside town where I get to have that ease of connection every day. I also make extra efforts to connect with raw vegan community, who encompass a much vaster terrain.

There is plenty of crossover between my different communities, and I like it that way. I am not interested in furthering fear-driven divides in our world; what feels healthy to me is to design boundaried spaces for certain specific pursuits or needs, while keeping invitations genuinely openhearted, to encourage cross-pollinations to happen and enrich everyone.