Tribe

I’ve been thinking a lot about the word tribe over the past week.  I just got back from my annual trip to Wanderlust in Squaw Valley and that word simply encompasses how I feel the minute I step foot into that festival.

Tribe:  "Any aggregate of people united by ties of descent from a common ancestor, community of customs and traditions.” 

My blood family raised me and for that I am beyond grateful.  My yoga tribe on the other hand, re-members me.  The knowing of tribe members is unexplainable and may show up as synchronicities or mystical encounters.  And while I agree that some of us may feel that with our blood family, others do not.  When I arrive at Wanderlust every year I can’t help but feel like I’m with my family.

We travel to each other and gather with a common interest and passion of making sustainable change with our various forms of art, music, dance and yoga.  We know that when we come together the energy creates a vortex that is mystical and magical.  We know that in one breath, big change can be made.  We know that bringing other like-minded individuals into our tribe make our vortex bigger and more powerful so there is support and unconditional love. 

And it’s like no time has passed.  Like we have been together all year long even though there are in some cases, thousands of miles between us.  I saw a friend of mine this last time and we both hugged for what seemed like hours, heart to heart.  Then he looked me in the eye, said nothing and then looked at my daughters who are now 10 and 12.  He said, “Dana, it’s like I’ve watched them grow up.  I’ve been witness to them becoming little women.”  There were tears in his eyes. 

It’s so true.  You feel bonded with your tribe … over distance, time and life circumstance.  You have definitely walked paths together before and you can feel it the moment you embrace.

Your tribe holds space for you while you grow, while you stumble, and while you thrive.  They hold space without judgment and without expectation.  They do their thing in life and quietly applaud you while you do yours.  There is unspoken gratitude for each other.  And the gratitude isn’t about anything you have “done for them”, it’s an appreciation for them living their passion because that gives you permission to live yours.  You definitely are never off the hook in your tribe. 

Your life could be similar or very, very different.  It doesn’t matter … because you only see one person.  You recognize the oneness in it all.  It doesn’t matter where you’ve come from, what path you have walked, together or apart … there is only one. 

The most potent thing a tribe does is remind you of who you are, where you came from, and why you are here.  So when you leave that tribe, others who are not in your tribe or don’t “get” your tribe, cannot vibrate in your field. Meaning that if you have been swayed in the past toward anything that is less than your highest light, you can no longer do that… comfortably.  Your light grows stronger and more vibrant … it’s as if you are fueled by the light of your tribe.

There is nothing more powerful than a tribe.  If you haven’t found yours yet, my advice is to stop, drop and look in the mirror.  Don’t look outside … look in your own heart. 

One love .. one heart .. one tribe.