Tribal Importance

In the past few days I have had the chance to connect with some of my communities in a personal manner. We all know about "tribes" on the Internet and how we connect very intimately with others all over the world who share the same interest, experiences and values thru Facebook, Blogger, Myspace and other community tools. Like most of you I am part of a number of these on-line tribes, and in fact the majority of my business comes from my on-line persona. While these communities are amazing for support and encouragement it really hit me yesterday how important the personal contact is, and how I have been guilty in the past of not spending as much time on my face to face relationships as my on-line ones.

Yesterday at the powerlifting club I was surrounded by people that have been involved with some pretty amazing experiences in my life. There were athletes who I had competed hard against, athletes who had competed in the same competitions at a club, state, national, and international level. Coaches who have lived and breathed my lows and successes. Athletes that I have coached and watched develop from novice lifters, and newer club lifters that I have seen improve over this past year. I have seen some of these people perform feats of strength and courage that I never thought possible.

My daughter is planning on competing at the State Rowing Titles next weekend and there are some logistics issues getting her there. When I dropped her off at the sheds at 5am this morning there was already a crew on the water, and about 40 people getting ready to go out. It suddenly struck me that this was her tribe and all of the experiences I have with my powerlifting community she has had, or will have with these rowers. At that point the logistics issues paled in to significance; I will get her there somehow because I know how important her tribe is to her life.

On the subject of tribes, I need to get over to Lindy's forum.

Have a wonderful day!

Lisa