The Community Weave: Spaces To Witness And Be Seen

Hello Hedge Schoolers,<br/><br/>A huge thank you to those who replied to last week's inquiry. Tom, Shebbie, Lara, and Bart, you have gifted me much inspiration this week and provided a sharpness to the vision I have for Hedge School. More to come on this in the coming weeks. <br/><br/>For this week's inquiry, I'm speaking to the power of community to hold us in these tumultuous times. And these are tumultuous times. Times with an edge that is cutting many deeply. <br/><br/>So when the strain of the weight we carry threatens to crush us, where, who and what do we turn to for support? <br/><br/>This episode is dedicated to the spaces, places, and people who have held me when life has threatened to swallow me whole.<br/><br/>Shambhala Warrior <br/><br/>At the start of 2020, I was two months into being alcohol-free. Covid was looming but no one could foresee the impact that it would bring. The absence of alcohol stilled the waters of my own mind and provided tremendous clarity. But with that clarity, came a comedown. The GABA pathways of my brain desensitised over time due to regular drinking struggled to reset. This led to anxiety and the dark clouds of depression. My amazing doctor flagged this as a journey I would need to travel through and recommended finding a community or coach that would help hold me. <a href="https://www.jirotaylor.com/">Jiro Taylor</a> was the first person I thought of. Jiro has been a constant companion in my own personal journey over the last five years. I called him straight after that appointment for the possibility of 1:1 coaching. <br/><br/>But he had bigger plans...as he always does.<br/><br/>Those plans were <a href="https://www.shambhalawarrior.org/">Shambhala Warrior</a>, a brotherhood of men dedicated to becoming the Elders required to help this world move through these tumultuous times. <br/><br/>I have been in that container ever since speaking my truth to a community of brothers who find themselves at the same crossroads in their lives. The truth found in the tilling of my own