Dear Community,
This post captures important communication about changes to the Wellbeing Movement in 2023.
The Context
The Wellbeing Movement is an experiment in weaving an ecosystem for wellbeing seekers so that they can offer and receive learning, connection, support and, most importantly, belonging. We have seen much of this come alive in our Wellbeing for All group and our monthly spaces, the Nurturing Zone, the Circles and the Practice Challenges.
To nurture anything of value and meaning in society takes time and effort. I spent almost 10-15 days a month in 2019-2021 and 3-7 days a month in 2022 to co-initiate and co-create the Wellbeing Movement. The effort required intentional stewardship and a lot of curiosity, care and compassion. Until 2022, I was compensated by financial resources from the Kiirti Trust and pro-bono support from Viridus Social Impact Solutions. Some of you contributed to the fundraiser for Kiirti Trust, for which we are immensely grateful.
The Changes
From February, the Wellbeing Movement is undergoing a fundamental structural shift. We have decided to move away from having any paid team members in the Wellbeing Movement and move to a fully volunteer-led model.
Four factors have impacted this decision:
The possibilities to foster more co-ownership and co-stewardship of the community
The need to nurture an approach completely rooted in the gift ecology
The inability to raise funds to bear the coordinator’s costs
My impending transition out of India in mid-2023 due to personal reasons
What does this mean for me?
With the transition, I will find other work that supports my financial needs. I will offer much less time and attention to the community than earlier. My transition will be gradual from January to May 2023. Even after my transition, I will remain active in the community and support the Community Weavers with any perspectives they need.
What does this mean for us?
While the monthly spaces will continue:
Our response times may increase to our everyday requests
The one-on-one interactions I have with us may reduce
Our operational rhythm may not remain as consistent
The evolution of our community may be slower
However, this need not be the case because:
We have three community members - Ruta, Keerthana and Tanushree - who are deeply invested in our community and actively contribute to its co-stewardship.
We have 300+ members in our community who can step up to help.
How can everyone help?
While I have always invited the community to step up, it has become necessary for us to do so. Among other things, each of us can:
Support each other’s requests and questions by offering connections and perspectives
Share valuable resources for learning with the group, with some context and a personal recommendation
Propose ideas for upcoming community spaces and connect the community weavers to possible practitioners who can hold spaces - one can offer spaces too if they have the skill or interest
Support the moderation efforts of our community by reminding each other of norms and flag messages that may seem disrespectful, insensitive or exclusionary to the community weavers
Contribute in small ways - lead community rituals, like 11:11 or Listening with Love; support our Instagram communication; coordinate a practice challenge, etc.
Connect with a community weaver to understand how they contribute to the movement and if contributing with time and wisdom seems exciting, reach out to become a part of the core group
Reflect on how we wish this community to be and grow and continue sharing those ideas with the wider group
Don’t hesitate to contact us with other ideas. This list is not exhaustive.
Closing Gratitude
Bringing the Wellbeing Movement to life has never felt like work. It has felt like co-creating a living and breathing being that comes from my deepest intention and values. It has required keeping an open mind, heart and will and being creative and intentional in the experiments and learning. It has needed to resist the temptation to monetize or scale and trust in the ways of nature.
While we have a long way to go as a community, I thank you for making this community the safe and supportive space it is today! I trust in our social soil’s ability to nurture the seeds and saplings of future initiatives and, more importantly, our relationship with the intention and one another. I will always be around and am eager to see where we collectively take our community.
Holding lightly and letting go is an essential practice for any wellbeing seeker, and this is an excellent opportunity for me to practise it.
Wish you a happy and peaceful 2023!
With Gratitude,
Kapil