A Community of One
You are not alone
September Newsletter
You are not alone
In some regards, it’s easier than ever to belong to a community. You can join a Facebook group or a Medium publication with just a few keystrokes and you’re off! With how much time we all spend online, it should only be a matter of hours until you have more connections than you could imagine, and then it’s off to the races! Right?
Sadly, no.
It’s terribly difficult to find a community online who makes you feel at home. You can’t see each other in person and rarely do you get to hear anyone. What is difficult is cutting through the noise of everyone else searching for a group to belong too.
But, if everyone is looking for a group, why is it so hard to feel connected in a world that’s connected more than ever?
The Story
I’m sure some of you reading this might be able to relate. It’s night and you’re up late, maybe single, and alone. You might have a dog or a pet, sipping your favorite drink, and you have nothing to do besides sit at your phone or computer and look for someone to talk to.
You look around through your different social apps and find that thousands of people are talking, but no one is talking to you. It’s demoralizing and humiliating. You stare at a list, auto-populating with nonstop comments from strangers all around the world, and those posts have hundreds of likes, retweets, thumb ups, and favorites. But when you check your feed, there’s nothing.
Nobody liked, clicked, and no one noticed, watched, or read anything you posted. The worst part is it happens over and over. Each time you sink a little further. Eventually, you give up and move on to another app, only for it to repeat there too. Believe it or not, this is the story of human existence in the modern age. We all want to belong, but no one is listening.
Like all things, The Taoist Online started as an idea because I wanted to bring people together who were passionate and curious about their beliefs, spirits, and the world. I wanted to do this because I was alone too. Not in physical sense, but in a spiritual one.
My family doesn’t believe the same way I do, and while I love them and they always support me, it’s a sad experience to not have anyone who shares my same beliefs around me.
I wanted a place I could go where people from all different belief systems and cultures would share their passions, thoughts, emotions, and ideas. I wanted somewhere online where people would listen and help each other. However, the more I looked, the more I failed.
For years, I tried different Discord communities and social networks, but nothing spoke to me how I thought it would. No one listened again. No one seemed to listen or care. And so, with the community of my dreams seemingly nowhere to be found, I set out to build it.
If no one had done it yet, then I knew I had to be the one to create it. It must be hard to create, since no one had done it before, but I believed I could. I believed a community dedicated to helping each other find answers needed to exist.
I wished. I hoped. I worked hard during late nights after my kids were in bed and on the weekends before they woke up. I created a Medium publication, website, social media accounts, and more. I started a newsletter and YouTube channel with its own Gmail address.
Eventually, after months of writing, talking, and building relationships, people came! I wasn’t doing it alone, either. To my surprise, readers who wanted to help too!
The Taoist Online, despite starting as nothing more than a thought, became what I always dreamed it could be — a community-run organization who listens, loves, and cares.
The Taoist Online
The Taoist Online is a Medium.com publication that provides readers with various articles on religion, philosophy, and…www.thetaoistonline.org
The team and I are here to lift your stories up and provide you the chance to be supported. We will scream it from the mountain top if we must! You don’t have to be alone with no one listening anymore. If you are alone, however, and wish someone would listen to you, let us be the place you can be heard. I can’t promise you riches or fame, but I can promise we’ll be here for you and we’ll do everything in our power to make sure others hear you.
I’m so blessed with an amazing team of talented volunteers and hundreds of writers who speak their truth every day and believe in our mission with their all their hearts. We work tirelessly to make sure your talents are seen and heard everywhere.
So, if you want to help us in our mission to gather those who don’t fit in, the voiceless, tired, and alone, then come join The Taoist Online. There are so many ways you can be a part of this amazing community.
Write For Us
We are Always Looking for Writers on Medium!
Calling Philosophers, Thinkers, & Spiritualists! Email thetaoistonline@gmail.com with your Medium profile (Not a paid…thetaoist.online
We are always accepting both new and established writers on Medium. If you want to write and publish under our banner, click the article above and read all about how you can join us as a writer!
Join our Discord Community
For those who don’t know, Discord is a free chat app where people can create different topic channels under the same community. Currently, there are 245 of us! Why should you join?
It’s Free
Monthly Community Meetups
Taoism Classes
Guided Meditation Sessions
Over 200+ members from all over the world waiting to talk to you
In order to help with the monthly costs of hosting a website and several social media channels, we recently launched an optional paid Discord Membership for just $3/month. These perks include:
25 Custom Emoji
Daily Meditation Sessions
Special Gifts from the team including artwork, stories, videos, and more!
Follow us on Social Media
MastodonÂ
LinkedInÂ
FlipboardÂ
X(Twitter)Â
TikTokÂ
Instagram
YouTube
Don’t see a social network here and want to help us move into it? Join our Discord community and volunteer!
Other Ways to Help — Donate
I made a promise a few months ago to tip my team members every month to support their hard work. So, each month, I make the donation rounds and tip every team member as much as I can.
I’m also a member of the Medium Boost Nomination Pilot Program to help our writers. If the writer is a Medium Partner Program member, the boost goes a long way to helping them earn revenue for their writing. I can’t nominate everyone, but I nominate as many as Medium will allow every month.
However, all of this cost’s real money. If you don’t want to join our Discord monthly membership, you can make a direct donation to the organization.
Your donations go directly to supporting our social media channels, website, and tipping our team. I run the organization at as close to break even as possible and I would love to be able to pay the team more, but for that, I need your help!
If you can spare anything at all, you can make a donation below.
Over seven months ago, I never thought a simple spark of imagination would balloon into such a wonderful light in our lives. I look forward to speaking with every writer, community member, and responding to every comment. I love making videos for you all and staying up as late as I can accepting new members. But what I love the most, is knowing if I don’t wake up tomorrow, you will all carry on without me.
I’ll continue to work every day in order to life up the voiceless so that they know someone out there cares.
I hope you all have an amazing September and I’ll see you soon!