Journal
What Is a Community Ecosystem? How Ours Grows in Lake Worth Beach
When I say community, I mean an ecosystem: people, a venue and small businesses that keep each other going. Here is how ours grows in Lake Worth Beach, and where you fit.
When people ask me what Ecstatic Living Florida is, I usually start with the word community. Then I watch their face, because community can mean almost anything. A Facebook group. A neighborhood. A gym.
So lately I have been using a different word. Ecosystem.
What is a community ecosystem?
A community ecosystem is a group of people, places and small businesses that depend on each other and keep each other going. Each part gives something and gets something back. When one part grows, the others feel it. When one part goes missing, the others feel that too.
It is the same idea as an ecosystem in nature. A garden is not only the plants. It is the soil, the water, the bees, the sun, and the person who comes by to water it. Take one of those away and the whole garden changes.
A community works the same way. Ours grows around The Womb, our event space at 1202 Lucerne Ave, Unit D, in Lake Worth Beach, in Palm Beach County. And it only works because a lot of different people bring a lot of different things.
Who is part of the ecosystem around The Womb?
When I look around the room on a full night, this is who I see.
The people who come. Everything starts here. Someone finds a gathering on our events page, sends an RSVP, and walks in the door, often a little nervous. Most people at their first ecstatic dance or sound bath have never done one before. Then they come back. Sometimes they bring a friend. That is how a room fills.
Facilitators. Facilitators bring the offerings: classes, circles, workshops, sound, movement. Some are part of our own team, and some come to us with a class they have wanted to share for a long time. When a facilitator hosts at The Womb, their event reaches our community, and our community gets something new to try.
Vendors and makers. Some of our events have vendors taking part. Our vendor application welcomes makers, food and drink vendors, artists and live painters, photographers and videographers, and production and technical help. A vendor brings something people can take home or taste. The event brings them people to meet.
Musicians and DJs. So much of what we do is held by music. Vanessa Morales and I both DJ for ecstatic dance. Musicians and performers apply through the same vendor form. And every 2nd and 4th Thursday we gather for Thursday Kirtan, a free community singing circle, where the music is made by everyone in the room.
Volunteers. Volunteers are the roots you do not see. A gathering runs smoother when someone helps it run. If you would like to give some time, tell us about it here and we will find something that fits.
The venue. The Womb is the soil. It has an open movement floor, a professional sound system, and room for up to 40 people. People rent it for single sessions, weekly classes and multi-day events, so the room can hold a yoga class or a workshop that someone else is hosting. That is a good thing. More people find the space, and more people find each other.
Local businesses. We rent out the same silent disco headsets, sound and lighting we use at our own gatherings, to events across South Florida. As our rentals page puts it, renting local keeps your money in the community that hosts these gatherings. We are also gathering a list of the local businesses and makers our community actually uses, called the Trusted Circle. It is still being written, and we are asking people what they love.
How does each part feed the others?
This is the part I love.
People come because there is something to come to. Facilitators and vendors come because there are people. The venue gives facilitators a place to start. And the person who comes one Thursday to sing could be the person who brings their own class to the room a few months later.
None of it moves in a straight line. It moves in circles. Money, time, skills, music and attention all pass from one person to the next.
The places where the circle can break are worth watching too. If everything costs money, some people stop coming. So we keep some doors free. There are free offerings, in person at The Womb and online. And through our Community Space Scholarships, we offer a limited number of complimentary space opportunities to facilitators who want to hold a free, community-centered gathering. Applications are reviewed one by one and depend on availability, so check the free offerings page to see whether they are open.
What keeps a community ecosystem strong?
I do not have a formula. But a few things keep showing up.
- Giving goes both ways. No one part only takes. The venue supports facilitators, facilitators support the venue, and everyone shows up for the people in the room.
- There are free doors and paid doors. Some community gatherings are free and some events are ticketed. Both matter.
- People talk to each other directly. Our facilitator Values & Principles ask people to raise concerns privately and respectfully, never in front of participants.
- Collaboration over competition. That one is in our facilitator values word for word. Two sound practitioners in the same community are not rivals. They are two reasons for someone to keep coming.
- Everyone leaves the space as they found it. It sounds small. It is not.
How can I take part in the Lake Worth Beach community?
You do not need to be invited. Pick the door that fits you.
- Come to something. See what is coming up on the events page.
- Start free. Look through our free offerings, or come sing at Thursday Kirtan.
- Share your work. If you teach, guide or hold space, send us a facilitator application.
- Bring your craft. Makers, food vendors, artists, musicians, DJs and photographers can apply as a vendor.
- Give some time. Ask us about volunteering.
- Host your own gathering. You can request to rent The Womb.
Questions people ask about community ecosystems
Is a community ecosystem the same thing as a community?
Close. I use ecosystem when I want to point at the connections, not only the people. A community can be a list of names. An ecosystem is what happens between those names: who supports whom, and what keeps it alive.
Do I need experience or a spiritual practice to be part of it?
No. Most people at their first ecstatic dance or sound bath have never done it before. There are no steps to learn and nothing to get right. Come as you are and move, rest or simply watch.
Does it cost anything to join?
Some of our community gatherings are free, like Thursday Kirtan, and ticketed events are usually modest. Each event shows its own details on the events page.
Where is The Womb?
The Womb is at 1202 Lucerne Ave, Unit D, Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460, in Palm Beach County. We open for scheduled events, classes and appointments rather than keeping set daily hours.
I run a small business in Palm Beach County. How do I connect with you?
Start with the contact page and tell us what you do. If you make or sell something, the vendor application is the quickest way to be considered for an upcoming event.
That is the whole idea. A garden does not grow because one plant tries really hard. It grows because everything around it is alive too. I hope you will come be part of ours.