If you’re reading this blog post and haven’t heard a single thing about the recent loss of a legend of a tribe member, Ben O’Meara, then let’s just get that out on the table. Along with his partner-in-crime and in marriage, Jenn, he’s been a part of the Boston tribe for several years, he’s helped strengthen and deepen the Woo tribe into a super tight-knit crew of fitness loving human beings, and he’s touched So. Many. Other. Tribes. Ben loved NP and NP loves Ben. We miss him, and will continue to miss him. And we’ll celebrate him by smiling bigger, hugging harder, dressing up way better on costume days (and non-costume days too…dude just knew how to dress for the occasion), by having a beer with friends, getting some fresh ink…and just living like each day is our last, because there are no guarantees about how many any of us have left. Ben taught us a lot.
But let’s also be clear, this blog post is not about Ben O’Meara.
Not about him personally, anyway.
This is bigger than Ben. This is bigger than one tribe. This is about the greater community that has the power to hold us all together week-after-week as we find fun and weird ways to embrace fitness and commit to keep moving our bodies–and about the very same community that holds us all together in times of difficulty, pain, sadness and loss. This is about all the people who showed up this morning–this Wednesday morning–on which all 36 tribes of NP gather in their respective cities and work out. Those human beings in all those tribes either knew Ben or they didn’t. They either felt his kindness and his passion for NP directly, or they felt it indirectly even if they didn’t realize it. Some folks showed up this morning needing to move as well as to grieve, to connect, to hug, and to heal–while other folks showed up this morning simply because they wanted a kick ass workout. Some showed up after long absences, and I’m so grateful that they could show up knowing that they’d be welcomed–not shamed for it. Ever think about how many people stop coming to NP because of shit going on in their lives? When life gets overwhelming and something’s gotta give, all too often the stuff we do just for ourselves is the stuff that gets cut. So today, when someone said they’ve been grieving the loss of a family member and showing up has just felt impossible–it was pretty powerful to also hear how being here…in the midst of this community…is healing. It felt like living.
THAT is what this is all about. This free fitness movement really is about more than fitness. It is, indeed, about the community of human beings who collectively create a place for people to feel connected, rather than alone. For them to feel welcomed, rather than ashamed. For them to feel empowered, rather than insufficient. For them to feel inspired, rather than complacent. For them to feel bigger than themselves alone, because the world is a too-big and often-scary place when we’re alone. And most of the time, when the shit going on in life challenges our health, happiness and well-being the most, it’s precisely this community and everything it offers that provides the greatest support. With the tribe, we are way more capable of getting through all the shit, even the biggest hills, hardest stadium, and the toughest real-life shit.
Handfuls of people approached me this morning and tried to explain that somehow NP is different now, in light of Ben’s death. It came from both people who knew and didn’t know him. They spoke of seeing the tribe not just as a workout group, but as a family. They spoke of the expansiveness of the community around the world and what it means to see tribe members in London, Amsterdam, Chicago, SF, or Phoenix (and so many other places) rallying for Ben–but also so visibly rallying around each other. When life gets really real, the tribe steps up and opens their arms wide, to bring it in for a hug. The tribe. Not just this tribe, not Boston. But the whole darn tribe.
This great big NP community. Which is not a cult.
I think for those who joke about NP being a cult or who deep-down wonder if it really is and who think one day we’ll finally bring out the kool-aid, today offered a new reality. It grounded us in the fact that as weird as we get, as costumey as we are, as crazy as it seems to wear hockey skates while climbing stairs up (and down!) in the stadium–it’s so much more than that. It’s weird and it’s authentic. It’s fitness and it’s hugs. It’s beginnings and it’s endings. It’s so, so good and it’s real. Real community to match the real-ness of life, which includes death. I’m so grateful to know that the tribe is stronger and closer than ever because of Ben, and also because of each and every tribe member out there. Let’s stay focused on how powerful this community is and let’s all help do what Ben believed NP could…let’s take over the world, one hug, one smile, one WooYeah, and one workout at a time.
#benlovesNPlovesben
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