This is my Tribe

Ian shared on the WhatsApp the above paragraphs from a book about the tribe.

Let me share the story of my friend who is a storyteller

At 12.16 PM on Tuesday 3rd Nov my friend Kavitha messaged on the WhatsApp group of the TILT community that Yeaaaaaaaa the ventilator is off!! That was the update we wanted to hear from 31st Oct. That Saturday she was pouring her heart out over the phone and was in tears talking about him. It was a somber mood.

I am talking about a special friend who got admitted into the hospital suddenly. This blog is dedicated to the TILT tribe who did what human beings could do best for others which is to care for each other. The tribe came together, prayed, inspired, and supported each other to send positive energy to him as well as to his family. There was a separate WhatsApp group created for the same. I have not seen such a virtual coming together of diverse people for healing and that was very touching. This communion of people made me ecstatic. Communitas is the term university of Chicago anthropologist Victor Turner used to describe this ecstatic sense of unity.

I recollected a meme I received a few days back which went like this, ” If you can’t be a pencil to write someone’s happiness then try to be a nice eraser to remove their sadness“.

This friend is one of the nicest and most humble human beings I have met in my life. I hardly spoke to him in the last month. He is my inspiration for my first vlog. I had shared it with him but didn’t get a chance to connect. When I heard about his hospitalization suddenly it was a bolt from the blue. The initial feeling was a sense of guilt about how I didn’t know what he was going through. These are times when I believe we have to be more than connected. He is one of the best storytellers in our group and my younger daughter remembered him as he did what he does best with his stories in one of those get-togethers for the kids.

This episode made me realize the importance of the vibe of the tribe and its interconnectedness as I came across this song ” we are all connected” with a Neil deGrasse Tyson quote

My friend is known for his selfless act of sharing notes from all the sessions along with the recommended books. His handwriting, note taking capability and his caring for others are his virtues which all the tribe members loved. Benjamin Franklin said it best, ” If you would be loved, love and be loveable.” This fits nicely for my friend. He is a combination of wit and wisdom. I had the opportunity of bouncing a lot of my ideas with him during the lockdown period. He’s an avid reader and a great inspiration for me to pursue storytelling. We all are waiting to see him get out of the hospital and wishing him a speedy recovery and good health in times of come. A clarion call for all of us to look after our health.

As one of the tribe member wrote, ” One day ‘ you will ‘ tell your story of how you’ve overcome what you are going through now, and it will become part of someone else’s survival guide“.

My friend always says ” This is my tribe ”