The Collective Community, A new journey

Its been just about a week and a half since we arrived to The Collective Old Oak. What an incredible journey so far, as we explore being alive together.

The intention
This program was created with the intention to catalyze connection and nurture the Old Oak community. The Collective Community program is designed as a learning journey. The team cohort will apply their talents to catalyzing communal bods among members while participating in a series of training modules over the three month intensive program.

The desired outcome
After this program, we hope to have gained the following outcomes:

• To develop one’s skills in community facilitation
• To nurture a vibrant culture and nurturing community at The Collective
• To engage members as active participants in the communal experience
• Create a learning handbook on building community and connections

The messy part
This journey is not all rainbows and unicorns. The collaborative process is both amazing and messy. Amazing, because its a great opportunity to learn and uncover the magic of being alive together, but messy because there is so much one needs to let go of in order to step into our potential as a team. We have had anger, tears, annoyance, judgment and all of these emotional pains during this process. However with each bump, there has been an amazing space where we can share all our fears and pains, so we can let it go and move forward into a new connection. 

What I've learned so far

• Collaboration is a messy process. We must be able to hold the space, so that all the pains and fears can be released and let go, before we an move forward as a team. But to hold this space, one must dare to share it, and be authentic to what is truly going on. And the others must be there to witness the pains, and just simply listen.  After the process of release, when one has had the space to let go, the witness must fill herself with love in silence, and just give back that love and compassion with few words. From there, we ask the question, 'what do we need now to be able to move forward?'
• Frame & intuition must work together. During collaborative work, in the state of emergence, it is important to hold the space by having clear collaborative frameworks. These frameworks help to contain and support team to move forward together. The intuitive and the frame must work together. Its a dance of the space holder of stepping in and stepping back during the collaborative process. The art is knowing when the right time is to do what. When we as humans have to deal with too large amounts of chaos, we easily loose ourselves from being overwhelmed, that is why the frames are key supporting elements, that hold the team together. 
• We must be ready to let everything go. The moment one holds on too tight and tries to control everything and everyone, that is the moment we must let go. Because this invites stress into the situation. The act of pushing or pulling helps move things forward, however one must always notice what price we are paying in order to make this pull or push. The questions become 'Where will this push /pull invite a regenerative contribution & where will it invite a damaging contribution? Can this be done in another way? What do I need to let go of in order to invite a new way working with this current reality?' 

Current questions:
How can I fully embody my vision of always being connected to love?