Viktoriya Babenko

“As with everything in life, nothing stays the same. All communities and relationships evolve and change. When you sense it happening, rather than thinking, ‘This isn’t what it used to be,’ consider this: It’s never supposed to be what ‘it used to be’! Everything evolves, including communities and relationships, and it’s a beautiful thing! Let’s learn to embrace that!”
― Radha Agrawal, Belong: Find Your People, Create Community, and Live a More Connected Life

“Belonging is the opposite of loneliness. It’s a feeling of home, of “I can exhale here and be fully myself with no judgment or insecurity.” Belonging is about shared values and responsibility, and the desire to participate in making your community better. It’s about taking pride, showing up, and offering your unique gifts to others. You can’t belong if you only take.”
― Radha Agrawal, Belong: Find Your People, Create Community, and Live a More Connected Life

“When we’re in the rhythm of the collective, we can be freed of our isolationist perspective. For a brief period of time, the lie of our separateness is exposed, and we remember that we are wholly connected to one another. It’s not that our individuality disappears, but that we are no longer blinded by individualism.”
― Casper ter Kuile, The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices

“In a conversation with Buddhist teacher Sharon Salzberg recorded in 1998, he explained, “I can’t believe in any of this stuff about creating community. I think the whole project of trying to build community is misplaced. I think community is. It is ontologically there. So, the project is more about awakening.” For him, connection is remembered, or revealed, because we are already “dangerously involved with each other in an incredibly intimate but unseen way.” That’s what it means to be human. Connection just is. We are each connected to every other thing.”
― Casper ter Kuile, The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices