Community Spirit, March 2018

My one saving grace was meeting my best friend
Susana a native Valencian four years ago at her local
English Academy. The generosity, connection,
compassion and love that she showed then and still
shows to my family is incredible. Susana supported me
as a mother, woman, human being, wife and person in
this Community to grow into a new culture. Her
compassion as a human- being has created our
friendship to blossom over the years. There were
plenty of times when I misunderstood, asked for the
wrong vegetables, got the wrong papers, got
frustrated and then started all over again. Now I can
laugh about those moments and definitely experience
them less as the years in my community go on.
As a parent, mother, wife, woman and person in a
community, I can reflect on many areas that have had
me grow. There are so many people on our doorsteps
or short car rides away that can help support us.
Sometimes we don’t even know they are there. Then
there is the positive side of social media where you
can ask a question in one of the many local groups or
connect with like-minded people.
During a retreat that I organized in Valencia at the
end of 2016, the theme was ‘Completing your Year
powerfully’. We set goals for the year to follow and
one of mine was to ‘Find my Tribe’ I have my tribe in
the U.K. so what about having the same here in
Valencia?
Not because Life was a struggle but because both
myself and my family deserve to have the support
from the community we Live in. To help raise my
children and show them all that Life can bring. It’s a
two-way thing whilst my family flourishes so do all
the people that make up my community. We all
have something to give and receive in this process.
Since declaring this goal I have been connecting
and sharing time with an abundance of people.
Sometimes it just happens spontaneously. From
locals in the café, families at school, educators,
holistic groups, people out walking. These
connections have not always been right here in
Valencia but also worldwide. Even the creation of
Community Spirit and now connecting with all of
you out there has been part of it. I did not have a
tribe two years ago and can now share with you
that my tribe is growing. We can all find our tribe,
we don’t even have to spend a heap of time trying.
There is an abundance for all of us.
So step outside, go practice your Spanish with your
neighbour and say the wrong words, go take up
that hobby that you have been talking about, take
your children to the local Valencian puppet show
and National Parks. There are endless
opportunities waiting on our doorsteps to grab
with everything you have got.
Talk to people in your Community, learn from each
other and remember “It takes a village to raise a
child”
I will leave you with one of my favourite quotes:
This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty
one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and
grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my
privilege to do for it whatever I can.
I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in
life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have
got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing
it on to future generations.
George Bernard Shaw