The Lone Wolf Trap

I was kind of a lone wolf as a kid. I didn't belong to or run with one pack.

I'd like to tell you it was because I was strong, self-determined, and self-sufficient.

But the truth is I was often teased, bullied, and excluded.

Later in life, as a professional musician, I spent most of my career as a solo artist.

The behavior we learn young sticks, even when it impedes your thriving.

Lone wolfing it through life might sound romantic or rugged, but it's not. It's just lonely.

We're inherently social beings who thrive through connection, communication, and collaboration.

It took some deep inner work to realize that being a lone wolf was really a seductive way of hiding from my pain and potential.

And through a sequence of fortunate circumstances and collisions, I learned and embraced the value of fellowship—belonging to a body of companions in a spirit of comradeship.

Fellowship sounds old-fashioned because it is old-fashioned.

In fact, it's olde fashioned. It combines two words from Middle English spoken back in the 13th century—"fellow" (one who shares with another) + "ship" (condition of being). 

To be in fellowship is also to be in communion—to be in community through a common cause.

There are many virtues in fellowship and communion—belonging, worthiness, safety, support, and accountability, to name a few.

Fellowship and communion also encourage building identity and forging meaning, two essential elements of what the ancients called the "art of living well."

Are you crafting a life that expresses who you are, what you believe, and where you're headed? What endeavor is the vehicle for letting your life speak through you? What role do fellowship and communion play in your pursuit of living well?

Scott Perry, Chief Difference-Maker at Creative on Purpose. 

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