(Our Sanghas, part 3)
I know a sweet little girl Adriana. Last time I saw her, she was blowing bubbles in the sun standing next to a flower bed brimming with Tulips. Most of the bubbles were medium-sized and not very long lasting. Then quite unexpectedly, she made a massive bubble that kept on growing and seemed to have staying power. The four adults watching got instantly excited about the big bubble. We wanted to see how far it would travel and just as we all boarded the dream-train, little Adri popped the bubble with an audible glee. “Speak of nonattachment!”, I mused.
Ofcourse―to create any real impact―work, practices, relationships and Sanghas need to have a longer-shelf life than bubbles but given enough time, every single thing changes. That’s the inherent nature of life and growth. It may be that our Sangha-partners become life-long practice partners and that’s quite wonderful. Alternatively, they may “graduate out” of the Sangha over time and evolve in ways that make the partnership less of a mutual fit. Their goals, approaches, and needs may shift or they may need to tend to other aspects of their selves, lives and work.
Even as I say this, it would hurt to see any of my budding Sanghas dissolve but mutual growth only occurs with natural alignment and when practice spaces can exist without excessive corralling. I take heart in knowing that even if my Sangha-partnerships morph or dissolve, our relationships won’t necessarily. They might feel like plants whose roots now need larger planters to thrive in. And with time, the roots of these relationships may have the capacity to carry more depth outside of that one practice.
“Once a sangha-partner ≠ always a sangha-partner. Once a sangha-partner = always a soul friend.” ― Li’l ol’ me
