Your tribe will catch you….Five words spoken one evening in a tribal gathering of sorts, around a crackling fire, under a starry, moonlit sky.  The words tumbled from the lips of one of our tribe sisters.

We all paused.

The words had come to her in a vision, a dream, and now they spoke to us.  They settled in.  Each of us took those words in, the way we each needed to.  As ours hearts and minds in that moment would have them.

We are a tribe of eight strong, spirited women.  Eight wildly unique, yet wildly connected women.

Some of us have coloured within the lines all our lives, while others have scribbled across their pages recklessly and unapologetically.  Some see the world as black and white, others, as varying shades of grey, and maybe even a rainbow.  We respect and hear each other’s opinions, and hold space for them, even when we disagree.

We grew up so very uniquely, but our collective story is one of beauty, unconditional love, trust and spiritual support.  Our laughter is a symphony of our respective notes.  And sometimes snorts.  Maybe even a little pee at times….

I am not sure when the tribe actually started to form.  I don’t believe that I was present for its inception. I feel like it started with a few “couples” years ago.  The wives of said husbands forged a connection that surpassed the subsequent uncoupling of certain partnerships.  An acorn’s worth of potential, grew into this mighty oak tree of sisterhood.

Weekends together at cottages, laughing until we cried, sharing truths, crying together, crafting, live music…all of these moments would nourish our souls at JUST the right moment.

The elephant was inaugurated as our symbol, one particularly profound evening.  I shone the Bat Signal (or Elephant, as it were) into the night sky, and my Tribe responded by pouring into my home, surrounding me with love and strength.  One by one, they filed in, carrying Prosecco, junk food and their pillows.

They were here to help me pack up the belongings of a certain person whose other life had just been revealed with a phone call from his “girlfriend.”  What would otherwise have been the miserable task of boxing and bagging his clothes and belongings, turned into a night of sisterhood, laughter and love.

The only shedding of tears was when one sister read a story aloud.  About elephants in the wild.  She read to us, about how female elephants encircle the one that is injured or vulnerable.  They face outwards,  forming a fiercely impenetrable circle as they kick up dust, and trumpet their horns when enemies approach.  As each of us envisioned this circle, right there in my kitchen, we all moved to tears.  Tears of knowing.  Tears of gratitude.  In that moment, we each silently dared anyone in this world to f*ck with our tribe.

That night, we danced, we sang, we laughed, we kicked up dust and we packed up his things.  We packed them with care and respect.  By the end of the night, each box had been moved to the garage and the house was smudged with sage.  We made room for new energy and love to fill this space.  Starting that night.

My home and my heart was so full of love, of trust, of vulnerability.  It was beautiful.  Peaceful.  A new beginning so profoundly delivered from within the circle of my tribe.

At any time, any one of us is at the centre of our circle, surrounded by her soul sisters.  At any time, we are called to protect the one that is struggling.  We show up for each other.  Without question.

A lifetime of aching to belong, to be accepted, by a family that could do neither, has afforded me the most profound appreciation of my Tribe.

We are sisters who have found each other in this life.

My Tribe is my family, and they will catch me.