Women are social creatures who thrive in community. We need community to support, to share, and to learn from one another.

In today’s modern world, there are fewer and fewer opportunities for women to be in true community with one another. We no longer live in villages with extended families and friends. Isolation is the norm for stay-at-home mothers and women who work from home; aside from the occasional playgroups and business networking events, most of the time, we are on our own.

And for women who work outside of the home, days are consumed with work, family, and household obligations. Trying to get to the group meeting at the end of the day or even to get to church on Sunday feels more like a burdensome obligation than a rewarding opportunity for community.

This week on Wednesday Café (2/28), Nancy Cantor of Cantor Consulting and the Dream Factory, will be with us to talk about how to create powerful communities that lift and nurture the women they touch. Below is an excerpt from a recent article Nancy wrote on the topic:

“Women are relational and realize the importance of community. In ancient times, we had the ‘Red Tent’ where we shared our cycles, joys, concerns, and love. In the fifties, we gathered for coffee and conversation.

As the world moves head-long into the future, the culture for women is changing. There are fewer avenues to gather in the old ways. Two-income families are a necessity and our professional expression is important. Women of the sandwich generation are caring for their children as well as for their elderly parents, while bringing home their share of the bacon.

What does that do to our hearts and souls? Author Adrienne Rich states that we are ‘split at the root.’ We want to matter in the world, yet the traditional feminine expression is in our nurturing and caring for those around us. How do we do that when even caring for ourselves is challenging? How do we honor our innate gifts, when we live in a world that calls for so many things from us?

It is time to gather and rediscover what the ancient societies knew. Women are sacred—they channel spiritual energy to their families and communities. They can create and nurture life itself. It is time to honor ourselves and each other in that way. It is time to gather in empowering communities where we practice the ancient rituals of sharing our cycles, joys, concerns and love. It is in doing that that we will find our true power and contribute it to a world that desperately needs what we most want to give.

We need to gather and make ourselves whole again; to fill our hungry souls with the nourishment of our camaraderie. It is only from that fullness that we can authentically care for the world.”

Community is the foundation of Total Business Fitness. And by creating this community over the Internet, it is accessible anywhere, anytime. As we grow, we’ll be creating more and more ways to connect with each other, both physically and virtually, to further build this community of amazing, visionary business women.

This is YOUR Community - what do YOU want it to be? Come and share your ideas this week!