Jams

Remembering. For as along as I can remember I have really loved “jams.” Not the kind you make from strawberries, but those events that draw likeminded people together to improv and play without much formal instruction. I think this affinity started long before I can remember, sitting around with family telling stories, making music, and entertaining each other through “family shows.” Always being drawn to movement communities, eventually this desire to share, grow, and create with others in a wild environment drew me to movement jams - parkour jams, contact improv jams, acro yoga jams, ecstatic dances, open gym nights, capoeira jams, fire jams, aerial jams, and many others. When these activities are able to occur outside and in environments that mirror their essentially wild nature then they feel extra special. This affinity also drew me into a world of festivals where I discovered whole communities of likeminded individuals eager to improv their way into creating something meaningful through other things like music, art, cooking, gardening, etc. Eventually, it also drew me to Austin and to many of the people, spaces, and communities that have been such an integral part of my life. I think that sometimes as we grow older and get “good,” or at least are told we are “good” at things, some of the magic became lost as the playing field feels no longer leveled and we ride the wave into growing and prospering as individuals. Getting back into jam mindset -where we can all grow learn, share, and become through and with each other is always such a beautiful process of self-reflection, benching the ego, and remembering to tend to the delicate balance of looking inward and gazing outward that fosters the most joyful existence possible. Individual self-growth and community building can go hand in hand. Figuring out the balance is a fun and sometimes difficult challenge. Over the years, I have been lucky to both facilitate and attend many different kinds of jams and it has been such a joy experiencing the growth that takes place within them. Navigating boundary lines and creating containers that allow for these events to exist is another interesting part of the process. I notice that keeping the value and purpose of jamming in our hearts can guide us towards the things that will allow us to manifest the events and ultimately the life that we want to create. Ultimately, I think that authentic expression through jam life leads to more resilient communities and a more connected world. And being able to trace something as simple as just sharing stories and playing music with family in the backyard to the people, events, and spaces that I feel drawn to today and wish to manifest tomorrow is the greatest joy.