Faklempt

This month, we held our first community board meeting. We brought together 18 of our strongest leaders to think about the big picture - where we are going, how we can grow sustainably, etc. It went so well that by the end of it I almost started weeping. Really. Here's why.

Thanks to Ben's amazing meeting facilitation skills, the meeting felt more like camp than like a meeting. We made art projects about our skills and interests, held breakout group brainstorming sessions about key questions, and just appreciated each other and people's ideas a lot.

At the end, Ben had folks go around and say what they were taking away from the meeting, or one thing they learned or appreciated. First our friend Evan said that he was just really excited to be part of such a special community at a point of so much growth. Then Mike said that he would be happier to donate $36 to Moishe House Boston to become a member (one of the ideas in the brainstorm) than any other expense he could think of. Then Jordan said that she realized during the meeting that never in her life had she been part of something that so wholly fit who she was. And it went on like that - one person after another talking about how excited and honored they were to be working to build and enhance our community.

Ben called on me last, by which point I was completely faklempt (translation: emotionally overwhelmed, at the point of tears). I just kept thinking about how two years ago I moved to Boston and into the house with few friends or partners in my work of building community. And now I am blessed with so many beautiful friends, a rich community, amazing housemates, and 18 of my favorite people as partners in crime to build this community. So it was tough to speak and hold back tears at the same time, but I managed to explain that I was just feeling moved and incredibly grateful that we have such special people working with us and enriching our lives. It kind of turned into a teary Moishe-love-fest after that.

Anyway, now that my emotions are under control, my sense of gratitude remains, and I continue to be excited by the possibility of involving more people in our leadership, growing our community, and working together to make a difference on critical social justice issues.