This blog is a little bit about being in the work from ‘me’ to ‘we’and what I’ve had the privilege of witnessing behind the scenes at the helm of November Project Brooklyn. The snippets below are to give glimpses from all angles, yet will never reveal all:
sangha (n)– originating from Sanskrit: the word has evolved from referring only to devout yogi practitioners to talk about overall community. It’s one thing to bring people together, to do that activity on the agenda, and call it a day. It is another to hold the space for people to come together who are, “engaged in serving and bringing joy to one another, and who inspire each other to contribute…the contribution of every individual to the community, and of the community to the greater world.” Bringing it back to a blog of yesteryear, every interaction matters. Not just your intention, not just your gooddays, and knowing we all are in this work together.
During our pledge days, the eagerness around something new radiated amongst everyone who showed up. Whether one time or in it for the long haul, that emotion was a steady source of inspiration for both Jean and I on Wednesday mornings. Hearing feedback in the moment, be it something we could’ve said better or the part of the workout that made them feel joy – we felt it all. I know Jean got a mouthful of my doubts and insecurities, and a handful of those moments that I just felt the pure joy after a workout, and she lead with the reminder that it’s just a workout. It is that simplicity, that bottomline, that is Jean’s super power. There’s no sugar coating with her: through the love, sadness, tough, or the easy. She uses constantly, a true extrovert and dancing queen all in one – and you never question where you stand with her or wonder where she’s at. We were originally connected through our experience with cancer and our free-for-life membership at November Project. Through just a workout. That led to holding the space for humans to join us on the steps, or the dog park benches, or the hills and grassy knolls…yeah, it’s that simple.
Public acknowledgment is part of the experience at November Project:
- We first extend it towards someone who shows up for the first time, and every location will use their own flare – 40 pieces of laser-carved, wooden necklaces even – to get the point across: you are forming a new habit for yourself. You. You made the choice to do something different. From there, during workouts, we encourage everyone to meet someone new during the time we have together. Depending on the size of the group, this can either be achieved by the end of the 60 minutes we have together that day or may take the entire year to learn each other’s names. Either way, being in the work of being present with another human is something that is becoming lost in our daily interactions. Small towns are looking at me like I have three heads: they know the names of everyone – best friend’s grandparents, the trash man or woman, local cops, dispensary owners, spiritual leaders, homeless person in front of their favorite coffee shop, and even their one night stands. For those of us in the bigger cities, we work hard to do this from the get go and have to own up when we drop the ball. We need the practice, and we all need the humility to realize when we’ve still haven’t got it down. Being in this work is the privileged work of building community, instead of simply focusing on getting 5 kids out the door or driving the hour commute to work. Or doing this, in spite of all that or none of it whatsoever, and keeping it on the down low. Of becoming aware of someone outside ourselves, and not keeping that to ourselves, by letting them in.
- Another element is the celebration of a birthday. Getting to age is another privilege. One that is not lost on me. I’m editing this blog as yet another person in my community – the young adult cancer community – dies from this disease. You may have had the privilege of meeting her or only reading along from her posts, and I’m referring to the resilient Gabe Grunewald. She had taken on 4 different diagnosis’s in stride, word choice to nod to her life as a professional runner, and ends her birthday count at just 32. Thirty fucking two. Yeah, I say birthday’s are my favorite – not because I grew up loving my day or being in the spot light – but as an understanding that at the same time you’re adding them up, you’re simultaneously counting them down. So we’ll dance, or do some solo fitness moves to the speed of the old time jingle, and even shout BOOM. Celebrate it. Celebrate the moment.
- And never to be forgotten, the power of the Positivity Award. The PA is the tradition of this whole movement in one wooden cut-off, oar handle, with the city location etched in the shaft (yes, you can giggle all you want – I’M JUST STATING THE FACTS). This is our subtle reminder that we cannot keep moving forward here or in life if those around us aren’t showing up – showing up to put the work in, showing up to be held accountable, showing up to receive love, and showing up to pay it forward. The beauty is the variety of humanness that shows up each day and in each city. Handing out this award reminds me at times of my days coaching field hockey: with categories like MVP, MIP, Coach’s Award, etc. These relied on stats, votes, and measurables of all necessary topics. I used to need all the object referral in high school in sports – wanting to be seen and acknowledged to know my worth, as I believed that had to be earned at that point in my life. So, while not trying to draw all the attention to this and wanting to still give it respect, when we hand it out – we, the leaders, hope you know it is because you are seen as you are: whether it’s from one moment in particular, from a culmination, running related or not in the slightest, you are building momentum to poke human inertia. It is all valued and all necessary. It keeps us from remaining stagnant in our-easiest-route-possible ways.
We have a man who shows up quite often here in Brooklyn (let’s call him Dan) who not only opens his home to our crew the morning of local races within the borough, and more specifically for people to use the bathroom. His personal bathroom.
If you run, you know what I’m referring to:
The last drop off before the send off…
The final deposit before the whistle blows…
…everybody poops, okay?
Some humans are more in-tune with their emotions than most. It is a gift to feel and share and support, and when you witness this on the daily – in person, through text, about life, or about running, or about the city realities that can’t be avoided – it allows for others to learn how to do the same. A woman by the name of Tara, who originated from up north, has led by example through all her communities – work and otherwise, on relationship resiliency and sharing it all.
Being so close to New York, we have the privilege of people going between both locations every week on the regular depending on their work / life / choice schedule. And there is a man who lives among us and doesn’t take a moment for granted. I’m not exactly sure if he wants public recognition on this one, and I believe in sharing this singular instance of his many stories to be rather important. One morning after a workout, he was taking the subway back to reality. On the way, he witnessed one human reaching into the pocket of a sleeping human as if reaching for their wallet. He chose to speak up to stop this action from happening. Mind you, there were just three people on the train – himself, the one who was present in the waking, and the one who was present in the sleeping. He made the choice to look out for the person who could not look out for themselves. The person retracted his hand and was not silent about being called out. Moments later, as this person exited the car, they decided to knock out our friend, Remi. Luckily, when people came onto his car two hours later, they also looked out for a man who could not look out after himself. He made it to the hospital and was able to receive care and find supportive recovery from all of his many communities here in the city. From a man who exudes endless love, it has been a gift to watch him learn to receive help from others and listen to those who are looking out for him. And, we’re grateful that his love for scones still remains intact.
Our youngest who rises with us, and her mom as a result, shows us drive and accountability when she can. That doesn’t mean it isn’t happening constantly behind the scenes: her offseason and in season work ethic is steadfast. She is surrounded by coaches and has stayed true to her goals while finding those who support them safely from all aspects. What she’s shared with us is the value around the commitment, not just the one off, the day in and day out work that goes into a goal. That goes into life. It isn’t always pretty, and it was never meant to be. That is the result of committing fully and adapting the effort to the reality, never losing sight of the dream and the endless ways to bring it to life.
I have witnessed people step up to the plate to get out of their comfort zones to better the tribe, and then months later hearing how it had shown up to support them in their personal lives. Be it business meetings, tough family conversations, showering a best friend with love who would rather not be noticed at all, it is crazy to know that the ripple is constantly evolving. One of these people is my current co-lead, Maggie. Maggie was born and raised in Brooklyn, and has a knack for the details. She’s steady. She’s sassy. She’s unapologetically good enough. I learn through her vulnerability and witness her transformation on the weekly. She lifts me up and calls me in, keeping our leadership growing steady. Sure, you may not see this the first time around. That doesn’t mean a thing. Sure, you may not see her start dancing immediately to a tune. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have rhythm and soul.
And then there’s this other guy, we’ll call him Rob. One of the co-leads of New York, and originally from Jersey, so you know he’s loud. We first crossed paths when he came to race in Philly and we belted out a karaoke song amongst friends from all over. His passion is never doubted, and his commitment has been able to shift to what is needed over the years, and his listening skills evolving. We originally started meeting up to keep our collaborations on track during times of leadership transition between our two cities. It would start with the items that needed to be tackled, followed by the teasing snickering, and the vulnerable real life ‘RIGHT now’ shit that we were going through. Rob reminds me a lot of my older brother – disagreements and opinions being discussed to the bitter end. It’s not about finding perfect resolutions, it’s about the compromise and the agility to support how you can with what you have to give.
And the list just keeps going.
And the beat goes on.
And on and on…
I don’t know how to wrap this one up, and if you need the Cliff Notes of this one (don’t blame you), here’s what I offer:
- Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.
- When you know better, do better.
- Celebrate this life.
To every person who took a practice flow of mine, chatted out my doubts, called my absence out, sent me a gentle reminder, laughed with or at me, and in any way supported me completing my yoga leadership and teacher training – thank you. I am grateful for the agility and accountability you have for our collective humans.
Toodles,
@sierra_missed
