02: thoughts on community pt 1

how good communities help bring out that dawg in you

I was talking to a friend recently about how discernibly different my life feels now compared to last year at the same time. It feels like someone upped the contrast on my life, everything is somehow more textured and colorful than before. For some reason life just feels more real to me now. There are many reasons for this, but I’m certain one of main reasons is community; my social group has changed my life completely. 

For people who don’t know (though I feel like I shout this from the rooftops), I help host a community space in Vancouver called Atelier; it’s a space where people get together to work on their passion projects and share their work with others every week. I can say that the people there have changed my life in ways I still have some trouble fully understanding. This post is an attempt for me to put into words the value of this community and adjacent groups, and a couple of ways they’ve tangibly impacted the way I think.

Agency 

The first characteristic of Atelier, which is obvious from the moment you walk into the room, is that the median level of agency of the people inside it is incredibly high. This definitely came out of the first attendees being unusually optimistic and ambitious, but it’s now almost an emergent property of Atelier’s culture and the vibe when you enter the space.

A quick note: I do have some qualms with the wording of agency, well discussed in my friend Kai’s thread about some unintended corollaries that come out of defining oneself as high agency. I do not have optimal wording for this yet though, so I will stick with it for now. Currently, my definition of agency is loosely defined by people who want to do really cool things and help others, and are actually serious about it. They pursue their most daring goals unabashedly, with an awareness and appreciation for the difficulty that comes with taking their life seriously. 

Life begets life, creation begets creation, and agency begets agency. When you watch people you know and love pursue their most audacious goals instead of just talking about them (or even worse, concealing them), it immediately becomes easier for you to do the same. You start taking steps and doing things you normally wouldn't, and your friends see you going out of your comfort zone. They start to mirror you, developing the courage to explore their dreams. And now suddenly you’ve developed a community that is entered around pushing your boundaries and devoting yourself to the process of creation. 

Now when I go to Atelier, I find myself behaving as though I have more courage and bias to action. I inhabit an identity where I am known for my wholehearted pursuit of my dreams. My friends who are regular attendees have noticed the exact same; this is likely the single most valuable thing I’ve ever received from a community. 

Halfway through writing this point I realized that I have so much more to say; I will be putting out a few more posts sharing thoughts on how community can change you over the next few weeks.  Until next time!