photo by quang nguyen vinh
Rule of Life for Love|Balms Beloved Community
The values and focuses for Love|Balms community and conduct within and hopefully without (that’s a ‘Fresh Prince’ joke!):
Beloved community is liberation work. This means that we are focusing on how we ourselves are true to and living what we believe. More, how we are living it in such a way that we are both invitational and demonstrating with one another how we live life and community well?
Because Liberation frees, it cannot force—it invites, it encourages, and it seeks self-and mutual accountability with our shared commitments, agreements, and visions.
1) “God” in This Space is Reference to That Which is Greater—a sense that there is a force of creation which desires love, healthy alignment, and thriving in all of creation, including humanity.
The concept of gods or God pre-exists Judaism and Christianity, and so does not belong to Judeo-Christianity to define for everyone.
As a womanist space, Love|Balms recognizes the multiplicity and full unknowableness of said Force of Love, as well as Their/Its wisdom, expressions, and experiences.
God can move however, whenever, and through whom or whatever They so desire. That’s part of what makes Them God.
(This being said, I am a US-based Christian, and so when reflecting on personal experiences will tend to do so out my framework as Western-based womanist/black woman liberationist Christian.)
____________
2) Addressing & Healing the Ills Which Have Been Barriers to Our Healthy & Whole Selves
We are seeking to live in healthier relationship with our genuine Selves, one another, and our world in order to live our fullest, healthies, and most passionate lives.
We will engage and address pain and hurts to the purpose of recognizing how we might live beyond them, and to the extent that the engagement is fruitful towards healing and becoming whole in ourselves and with one another.
Our process is never about “getting over it” or “making things better,” but being honest about where we are so we can become as well as we desire to be.
____________
3) Addressing & Healing the Ills That Stem From within Ourselves
Recognizing the ways in which we may have been harmed also compels us to understand the ways in which we have harmed and are harming.
We desire to consciously reduce the harm we may visit upon others even as we seek to reduce that which is visited upon us. If I seek to reduce how an “ism,” harm, or power dynamic is manifested against my life, I must also seek to recognize and address how I may be manifesting “isms,” harm, or power dynamics against others’ lives.
Healing requires healing not only myself, but also recognizing the hurts and harms perpetrated against each of us—and that begins with the hurts and harms caused intentionally or unintentionally to the benefit of, and by my own being and life.
My desire for kindness and justice must be from my own self as well as from one another. What power and privileges do we each have, and how are we using it responsibly and justly, as we ask of others?
____________
4) Addressing & Healing the Ills That Are External to Us, and Against One Another
This is liberation work and commitment. Liberation cannot be for a singular or individual person, group, or freedom.
Liberation means that every person who desires and seeks liberation should have the capacity to attain it.
We who are believe are then each and all responsible for recognizing, caring about, and learning to address harm we see coming against one another.
____________
5) Becoming Proactive About Becoming the Love, Kindness & Justice We Desire
Healing isn’t for healing’s sake, to simply be okay. It serves to help us build firm foundation towards flourishing and thriving life.
Living the lives and relationships that we desire and deserve are why we receive our journey.
We want more than to exist. We desire and commit to live fully as our gifted, whole beings with one another.
And this means becoming the love, kindness, and justice that we desire in the world. We learn to help exemplify and light the way for all those we call and invite to join in.
In sum, this means we are seeking to be in ourselves and with one another:
…Healing & Transformative
~ Inspiring ~ Convicting ~ Compelling
~ Direct ~ Responsible | No shame & no excuses
~ Affirming | Towards whole & gifted Self & community
…Loving & Relational
~ Invitational ~ Communal
~ Embracing ~ Compassionate