In these difficult times, finding your personal tribe, or group of very supportive friends, is vitally important.
Keeping reading for some tips on how to find your tribe, how your tribe can support each other, and for discussion questions that can help us all connect with each other right here.
Stay Connected with Your Tribe
Now that social gatherings are prohibited in many locations, our opportunities for in-person meetings with our friends and members of our tribe have been greatly limited. We now have to find creative ways to give ourselves the fellowship we need for our mental and emotional health.
Here is a list of some ways we can stay connected. Feel free to leave your own suggestions in our comments box.
- Write letters to friends and family
- Send text or Facebook messages to individuals and to groups
- Make use of Facetime, Skype, or other methods of online video chat
- Go outside and talk with your neighbors, maintaining social distance
- Create a Facebook watch party for a video
- Create a Netflix watch party and all watch the same movie at the same time
How to Find a Tribe
Have you not found your own tribe yet? There are many online options for finding a tribe of supportive people. Take some time to think about the beliefs, activities, and hobbies that are important to you. Make a list of these things, in order of their importance to you. Next, think about some online places where you might able to find people who share these interests.
Here’s a list of suggestions on where to find people who share common interests:
- Online communities and message boards
- Facebook groups
- Websites of your favorite businesses
- Online gaming communities
So what do you do once you find a group of people who share your interests? To make the best first impressions, spend some time “reading the room” before jumping right in. Become familiar with the group’s rules to learn what is and isn’t allowed. Read through a number of discussion threads to learn just how much people tend to share with each other. Some groups are focused strictly on the shared interest and off-topic conversation are not allowed. Some groups organize around the shared interest but encourage conversation on all sorts of topics.
Once you have a good understanding of group dynamics, jump right in! Respond to discussions started by others and start discussions of your own. Let others get to know you by sharing about yourself gradually. If the groups asks for your entire life story all at once, feel free to share. Otherwise, take your time. Get to know others as you allow them to get to know you.
I have met some of my best friends online. In many cases, we’ve eventually met in person as we go to events focused on our shared interests. In other cases, we may never meet in person. But that doesn’t mean our connections aren’t just as deep and meaningful as the connections with those I’ve met in person.
Today’s Discussion Questions
Please share your thoughts with us here or on our Facebook page. Here are some discussion starters, but feel free to ask your own questions or leave other comments.
- Have you found a tribe of your own? If so, how are you staying connected?
- Have you had trouble finding a tribe? We’d love to hear your experiences and commiserate with you.
- Do you have any tips to share about how you found your tribe?
- What are some things you enjoy doing with your tribe?
- Are you willing and able to support others online? Where can we find you?
Join Our Tribe
We invite you to be part of the SPARKLE Studio tribe. Connect with us through our website, our Facebook page, or our Instagram posts. We are here to support you!
Today’s card, Find Your Tribe, is from the Crazy Sexy Love Notes 52-card deck written by Kris Carr, New York Times best-selling author and wellness activist and illustrated by Lori Portka of Happiness through Art.
