Prompt: Write about the community you hope to build.
The prompt for today is: Write about a community you hope to build.
Let me start with this: I don’t know how much I actually want community.
I want it to be within reach, but I don’t want it to be persistent. That’s probably unrealistic. Community is one of those things you belong to whether you’re actively participating, passively observing, or somewhere in between. Your relationship with it is always there.
So, ideally—fantastically, really—it would be nice to keep it at arm’s length. To step into it when I want to and step away when I need to.
One community I didn’t expect to become part of came with the birth of Emi. There seems to be a baby boom in our neighbourhood. On our little strip alone, there are probably seven young children now. We find ourselves talking to new parents all the time, exchanging stories—or more accurately, commiserating—about what parenthood is like.
There are group chats where people trade baby products, recommend daycares, discuss early education programs, and generally help each other out. In that sense, it’s a remarkably supportive community.
I experience most of it second-hand because I’m not actually in the WhatsApp groups. I know I would never keep up with them. Still, I like knowing they’re there. I like being able to engage with the community when I feel ready to, rather than feeling like I always have to be part of it.
Another community I belong to, though at a greater distance, is the religious community I grew up in. I don’t practice anymore, and I haven’t for quite a while. Even so, there are aspects of it that I still appreciate.
When the Aga Khan came to visit, I went to see him because I found it meaningful. Emi was given her bay’ah, so she can choose to practice Ismailism if that’s what she wants one day. It’s not something we’re going to impress upon her, but she now belongs to that community through the ceremony.
I think it’s been a very positive community for many people. My parents, especially, have benefited enormously from it. It’s just not something I want for myself.
Then there are the communities I’m trying to build.
With Letters’ Lounge, I imagine a community of reflective writers—not professional writers, just ordinary people who write honestly. The kind of blogging that existed in the early days of the internet. Nothing polished. Nothing manufactured for publication. Just people being themselves and sharing their thoughts.
With SANA Stationery & Gifts, I imagine a community around stationery, craftsmanship, and making things by hand. I love the woodworking community on YouTube, and whenever I meet other woodworkers at vendor markets, I could talk with them for hours. The same goes for people who are passionate about stationery and analogue tools.
I suppose communities are everywhere.
I just seem to move in and out of them.
You can find this prompt, along with many others, at Letters’ Lounge. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this prompt—or any of the others—so please leave a comment or share a link to your own blog or audio journal. I’d be happy to read or listen.
I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
This transcript was lightly cleaned up with the help of AI to improve readability while preserving the original voice and intent of the recording.
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