The soul of community

13 Oct 2025 | Being in business

…on spaces of support that aren’t built on performance or pressure

In August I wrote about my ponderings and longing for gentler spaces of support, and you wrote back with warmth. It made me realise how community is a common longing. And also how vast the idea of community is and how we rarely pause to ask what it truly means.

We often imagine community as a place that gives us something: belonging, ease, access. Of course, we all long to be received, to be seen, to rest in a circle of care but that is also how a community can become one-sided.

Community asks something of us, I’m thinking.

It invites us to bring our listening, our presence, our willingness to carry and be carried.

It’s not only a place to vent our needs but also a place to hold the needs of others alongside our own.

It’s not only about finding comfort but about creating it together — weaving a fabric that holds everyone.

We live in a time where “community” often is mistaken for a group with a leader, someone pulling the threads, making things happen for everyone else. But to me, that’s not the soul of community.

True community seems slower, deeper, and more collaborative.

What do you think?

I find myself wondering:

What would it look like to be in a space where everyone is a vital part?
What might shift if we saw community less as something to consume and more as something to co-create?

I don’t believe my role is to form a “new community” or to step into the role of leader (well, I should never say never). Thinking that I’m here to weave a map of soft spaces — to search, to notice, and perhaps to imagine alongside you what community could be if we honoured its soul.

Does this in any way make you shift your perspective on community? What does community mean to you — and what would you bring into it?

If you wish to read the first part of this you can find it here “A question I’ve been holding”.

So where am I going with this? Truthfully, I’m not sure yet.
I just know how much wisdom lives in women in midlife and beyond. I know community can be a lifeline in business and in life. And I know I don’t want to put a price tag on it.

Here’s my questions for you:

Do you miss having a soft space to land with your thoughts and tangles?
Do you already have one? Where is it? How does it work?
And maybe even — would you want to create such a space together?

If this resonates, feel free to reach out or just hold the thought quietly. Either way, I’m listening.

You’re also welcome to join my newsletter here, where I share reflections and invitations on this and more.

We live in a time where “community” often is mistaken for a group with a leader, someone pulling the threads, making things happen for everyone else.

True community seems slower, deeper, and more collaborative. Or what do you think?

A question i’ve been holding…

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