You Find Your Tribe

It’s funny how we met, out scouring the neighborhood for a lost dog. The mere hellos that had passed over the years alerted me to the consciousness that we did somehow, belong to the same tribe. The one that loves animals and would do anything to help a neighbor. I didn’t know that until I saw you along the banks of Otter Pond calling out the same dog’s name.

I knew we were part of the same tribe, when you came to the door with two quarts of soup and a loaf of bread when I was so tired and weak – and how that bubbling goodness warmed my soul. You see it’s not just the soup, it never is, it’s that pure and simple fact that you knew I needed it and were willing to bring it into my kitchen while I was coughing upstairs.

I’m not one for peering into the windows of the fancy car that just drove by-I’m not sure if I’ll ever wonder who is in there- you see because I have found my tribe-the one that lives in my heart. It’s driving up my driveway to find a new vaporizer sitting on my porch, it’s the chicken sandwiches and cranberry juice, and the texts that check on how the doctor’s appointment went. Your tribe become a fibrous part of your soul- you feel the interwoven connection.

It’s the tribe that stands outside in the cold to bless the new Marine Response boat. The men and women in their navy-blue sweatshirts that are on call to respond day and night to the needs of this small village. They’re part of my tribe. We may not have season tickets to the ballet or open access to some of the more exclusive restaurants in town, but that has never seemed to matter. There is a connection that I feel with people that share this bond- this simple, beautiful bond-not a construct of wealth or ambition or tit for tat. Not a ladder climbing bond but an unassuming bond of the heart.

Tribes can be fluid. People can come and go. There are those who move into the area and quickly work to change the things that drew them here- and then there are those who move in and appreciate the way things are. Some spend a good deal of their time and resources trying to enhance and enrich the primordial canvas. They walk gently over the ancient footprints. Others are attached to their opulence and the way they feel things should be.

I don’t mean to sound tribal- it’s just this knowing that you have never needed all of the fancy handbags and tennis shoes and honorary memberships and board positions- to hold you in place. Your feet are secure. You know who you are.

This simple village has taken on so many layers but I am hopeful that there will always be a core that remains. You know who you are. I know who you are. You are my tribe.