Where Kindred Souls Gather

From across the room, I watch the girls hover together. Shoulder to shoulder. As if the most fascinating discovery lies in the middle of their circle.

Their laughter pierces the air with a familiar pang — another reminder I’m not one of them. Their voices rise and fall like the crescendo and diminuendo of a well-rehearsed sonata.

A similar cadence of critics echoes from within, saying I’ll never fit in.

This scene isn’t reserved for the hallways of high school either. Long after we graduate and move on, we discover this same scene being played out in a thousand different ways. But its effects are still the same.

Circles gather. Groups form.

School.
Work.
Neighborhood.
Online.
And sadly, even at church.

The table we want to sit at never seems to have enough chairs. Why is that? And why are we plagued with this innate desire to belong?

Because our human hearts crave connection. It’s built into our DNA. To know and be known.

Everyone wants to be liked.
Everyone wants to be accepted.

It’s only natural. We want to fit in.

But popularity alone cannot fill our need for community.

This is also how blogging can get a little sideways. Because popularity and community are two different things. But it’s easy to confuse the two. They look the same on the outside, but they’re vastly different on the inside.

Popularity is about a quantity of connections.
Community is about the quality of connection.

That’s not to say they’re mutually exclusive, but popularity by itself can shortchange its pursuers. Because a mere quantity of connections can never replace the quality of connection we long for. Even the most popular among us would say they find community, not in the masses, but in the friendships they’ve made over the years.

So as a blogger, I want to grow a community. And a community is comprised of friendships. Real relationships with real human beings.

I admit that I used to distinguish my “online friends” from my “real life friends.” But that distinction has dissipated over time as I’ve come to realize how my “online friends” are now regular ole’ friends.

Friendships are the greatest blessing to come from blogging. {Tweet this!}

Who knew that blogging could connect our hearts across countries and continents? But it does. Time and again.

And our “long-distance” friendships require the same care and nurturing that our “local” friendships require. So the following principles for friendship apply to all FRIENDS, both near and far.

F is for find.

Friends find things in common and build from there.

R is for respect.

Friends respect each other’s differences too.

I is for invest.

Friends invest the time necessary to get to know one another better.

E is for encourage.

Friends encourage one another in their unique gifting and calling.

N is for navigate.

Friends navigate the inevitable ups and downs that accompany any close relationship.

D is for delight.

Friends delight in one another’s successes and joys.

S is for savor.

Friends savor the gift their friendship truly is.

The friendships I’ve made through blogging is the biggest reason I enjoy attending Allume. I’ve met so many friends there.

Allume is a gathering place for kindred souls. {Tweet this!}

A true community will continuously look to create spaces of welcome, to invite others in. And that is what we desire at Allume. To make it a place where all feel welcome. And to save a chair at the table. Just for you.

How has blogging connected you
with friends you might not have ever met otherwise?