by Katie Kinnemeyer, Hive Hospitality
photo taken in contemplative photography class
The role of the host is a crucial one at the Hive. Hosts hold the threshold space when you cross from your Ordinary World to the sacred space that is communion with your Inner World. Hosts offer acceptance as soon as you show up to the door (physical or virtual). No matter how you show up, we prepare to receive you. We partner with facilitators to create an environment where you feel welcome and brave.
We share belonging and we are the belonging. It’s the paradox of hospitality: being while simultaneously doing hospitality.
I joined the lead team having only been to one Buzz, and knowing only one member. I wasn’t part of the community, but I had been keeping an eye on the Hive since it started. The mission seemed important.
At first, I was self-conscious about whether or not I belonged. No one knew me, how would they receive me in this position of “authority.” I kept playing the who-the-hell-are-you-to-be-here tape in my head.
Oh, how many amazing shifts have happened since I dropped the illusion of non-belonging. And bonus, I dropped the posturing of hierarchical authority to get things done, too.
A few weeks in, I decided that indeed, I did belong, in whatever way I came, and with all the gifts I had to contribute that no one knew about yet. The brave culture of the Hive helped me do that.
Now I understand belonging isn’t chronological. It’s heartfelt. Rather than measuring it in time, I measure it in warmth, depth, presence, and grace.
This relationship to others has brought me out of the confines of my worries, nervousness, Imposter Syndrome, perfectionism, and into the light and warmth of sharing acceptance and receiving it right back.
That sense of belonging arrives to me often, and I believe it’s because I don’t stop myself from making the first move. Hospitality means welcoming the stranger (including myself) and then extending that by cultivating belonging, and creating space for discovering what another has to offer.
My role in both hosting classes at the Hive and supporting the team of hosts has taught me how to be a different kind of listener, creator, and collaborator. I almost never encounter someone without feeling like I received a gift from them. Belonging is a spiritual practice, and to look for the gifts that other people bring.
I’d like to extend an invitation of deeper belonging into the Hive community, as a Host on the Hospitality Team. It’s the perfect opportunity to show up as your glorious self, so that others can do the same. It’s a regular practice in celebrating individuality, while discovering all the different ways community can look and feel. And, bonus, you get to be a part of that Great Unfolding here at the Hive.
If you’d like to learn more, please send me an email at Katie@CincyHive.org. I look forward to the gifts you bring.