our third space

“I think the reason there’s such good juicy kitchen gossip, and so much connection happens in the kitchen, is because you are usually kind of doing something repetitive, and that releases something in your mind that creates a space that doesn’t just reside in the brain, but also is something that becomes part of the body. And how often do we do... See more

Notes & Highlights for How We Show Up by Mia Birdsong

To create something that others want to join and support, we have to remember a core tenet: communities function best and are most durable when they’re helping members to be more successful in some way in a connected and dynamic world.

Charles Vogl • The Art of Community: Seven Principles for Belonging

events (ie. pop-up shops) as third places??

We don’t build community .

We build containers where community has a chance to emerge.

How Communities Emerge

There are a lot of organizational structures and lived practices embedded in our bodies that we just enact by default. But through explicit facilitation practices or when we make meetings happen in a certain way, that helps change these conditioned ways of operating. In the process of learning to work this way, what really helps is, again, trust.... See more

Willa Köerner • On growing a cooperative like you’d grow a garden

“The intimacy that comes with time and attention allows us to be vulnerable with others. This intimacy, across a group, can become a durable network—like mycelia. We are strongest when we feel safe being soft.” To me, that network feels like security.

Cultivating Non-Romantic Intimacy

Most purposes for gatherings feel worthy and respectable but are also basic and bland: “We’re hosting a welcome dinner so that our new colleague feels comfortable in our tight-knit group,” or “I’m throwing a birthday party to look back on the year.” These are purposes, but they fail at the test for a meaningful reason for coming together: Does it

Priya Parker • The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters

Good communities incubate innovation and creativity – think of the salons in France where intellectuals used to meet to discuss the latest ideas; the Olympia Academy; la Bande de Picasso. A feeling of belonging allows people to be authentic, to move from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset, and to take risks knowing that they have people to... See more

Amanda Ngo • Community-building — amanda ngo

communities function best and are most durable when they’re helping members to be more successful in some way in a connected and dynamic world.