I am not a super big fan of “group projects”. It brings back nightmares of my grad school days waiting for everyone to turn in their stuff at the eleventh hour for a presentation due in two hours. Just thinking about it now makes my left eye twitch. I have always been one of those people that would just rather do everything myself instead of rely on the efforts of others, or admit I didn’t know what I was doing. It felt safe and gave me the illusion of control. Now fast forward to now…I am learning more and more the definition and value of community, the strength of collective care, and the reality that I in fact don’t have, nor do I have to have, all the answers. I am learning that life is just one big group project. As cringey as that may sound to us group project detractors, it is the truth. I am finding there is immense comfort in knowing I am not the only one trying to navigate life. I am not the only one who trips up a bit and then tries to act like I meant to do it. I am not the only one who desperately wants to shove all my weirdness in a closet when folx come to visit. All of these things define what it means to be human. I know, sorry to burst any bubbles. But maybe, just maybe, if we relax our judgements over “group projects”, show up authentically and allow others to do the same, we will be surprised at the shift that will occur….for ourselves…each other…and just maybe the whole world.
Rev. Ryan