Reflection on Mission: Why Sharing Life is Important to Us
9:13 AMI just returned from a night at Art Walk where I got to see a beautiful performance by two Spare Key members at the Springfield Dance Association Community Dance Slam. Abbey performed such a powerful and artistic dance, while Rob played his song Centralia that he wrote for Wild Bob's Musical Book Club. I would have never found myself at this event unless Abbey had invited me, which got me thinking about our Spare Key Mission.
Spare Key is a neighborhood of adventurers committed to fostering practical expressions of the spiritual, personal and communal goals of its members through the act of sharing in hopes of leaving the world better than we found it.Every time I read this, I am reminded of our long conversations, numerous chart papers, and hours of thought that we put into creating this mission. The best part about it is seeing that we are actually doing these things. We are sharing life together in so many ways and spurring one another on to meet goals of all kinds.
For example, a few months ago I remember Abbey talking about wanting to find an outlet for expressing herself through dance. Well, several Spare Key member were in attendance tonight to show our support as she tapped and danced her way toward meeting that goal.
Another example is Spare Key's favorite band - Goat Milk Honey. I can no longer count how many times and how many different venues in which I have seen Rob and Ryan share their talents. Now they have CD's and I can listen to them whenever I want! (Available at any GMH show!)
I have attended several fitness classes with Bethany as we share a personal goal for health and wellness. We have all spurred one another on in our health goals in a variety of ways including bike rides, long walks, yoga classes, and many other things.
For Jay's birthday last year, he decided he wanted to serve in some way. So, what did Spare Key do? We built a stone wall out of torn up parking lot pavement. For. His. Birthday. Who does that?
Two more events that I would have never attended without the desire to share life with Spare Key: Last year, Bethany was selected for 417 Magazine's 20 Under 30 award. We all attended the ceremony to show our support (and to eat the fun little foods and drinks). In June, the Watershed Center of the Ozarks hosted their Summer Gala. To show support for Rob and the work he does, several of us attended and won some auction items in the silent auction. The short films were awesome too.
I lost count of how many times we have all helped each other move. When we moved into our new house a month ago, our realtor and lender were so confused when we told them we were having a "moving party" and that 10-15 people were coming to hang out and help us move. When we told them this was our 12th time moving in 10 years, they looked at us like we sprouted a unicorn horn or something that people would still help us.
Last April, I found out that I would be moving jobs to a different school. I made it a goal to transfer to Sherwood Elementary, and Spare Key supported me in that goal. They were and continue to be so interested in what I am doing at school and what new things I try each week. In fact, they came to my school during our grand opening event just to check the place out! I was told the next day at school that normal friends don't do that.
I guess they're right. "Normal friends" don't support each other in the simple ways we do through Spare Key. I am by humbled this community that supports my dreams, goals, passions, and whims. Our focus on sharing is a really beautiful and rare gift that I am lucky to benefit from. Through this act of sharing life together and supporting one another in every way, I know we are definitely leaving our little corner of the world a better place than we found it.
This post was written by Amber Howard, Sharing Czar of Spare Key.
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