Emphasizing the UNITY in COMMUNITY: San Antonio Wellness Collective is here to build real relationships and lasting impact in San Antonio, Texas.

I've been thinking about this topic a lot in the last few months, and it is the prime reason why I started San Antonio Wellness Collective. I had a longing. A deep desire for something I have searched for in different ways my whole life.

COMMUNITY.

Everyone has been using this word for years on flyers, in posts on social media, and all over the Networking world. This buzzword entices people to join. An emotional pain point that acts as a beacon for the lonely, the burnt out, and the independent individuals. The business owners struggling to get by while growing their businesses are especially prone to answering the call.

The call to Community. To an idea that has been really misused and underproven for most of my life. Whether it be the promise of growth, friendships, more money, more free time, or something else that sounds amazing when tied together in a bow with that word.

What I have come to learn is that Community is often missing a crucial part. UNITY.

When looking up the definition of COMMUNITY, I found an assortment.

BONDING OVER SOLIDARITY SOMETIMES CAUSES MORE DIVIDE THAN GOOD

All of these are fair interpretations. It is common for people to now use that word to explain their event as a gathering of like-minds or shared hobbies. Sure, we can all gather in a room for a few hours. It can feel or look luxurious. Exciting. Stimulating. Sometimes even overstimulating. You may continue to show up to events because you are seeking Community. Eventually you leave, because it does not do what you hoped for - or worse, it drains you.

The truth is that Community is not about gathering in the same spot over and over again. It is not even about SOLIDARITY. Nowadays people are way more divided than they are brought together when just focusing on being super NICHE or having a ton in common. Some people even leverage the fact that they have differences to reinforce being excluding or mean to those outside of their circle. In business, it can feel very harsh when networking groups are exclusive OR just not open to getting to know each other personally unless it was the profession type the other party was hoping to meet. At the end of the day, all people in business are doing is making money to feed themselves and their families. Everyone deserves support and to be heard. OR else the UNITY becomes division and many businesses or individuals shut down (quit) completely.

You learn a lot from being around people who are very different from you. When we come together and learn about one another, we realize we are all HUMAN. Something special happens when you sit around with strangers, conversing about more VULNERABLE topics. You realize you can stand to be more caring, considerate, and helpful towards each other. LIFE can feel very HARD. When we all stay isolated or divided, we do not get the benefits of what COMMUNITY can really be.

I was reminded this past week how important it is to have people in your life. My little family faced some devastation on our homestead and in our lives that is pushing us to have to downsize. It was not only the GRIEF that kept me shook for several days, but the overwhelm of all the changes coming that made it hard for me to really function at full capacity.

I had a moment of embarrassment and wanting to hide. I did not want to have to post or email at all about what I was experiencing, as my go-to for years has been to isolate. I learned from early childhood that when things get tough, you take care of it by yourself. No one is coming to save you, guide you, or comfort you. You're on your own, kid.

I firmly believe in walking the talk, so I hit post for the people now in my Community to see, and I also shared my feelings in a journal. As an adult who is still healing from trauma, I have realized I do not have to rely on the OLD TOOLS in my tool belt. I have to learn new tools and use those if I want to become a stronger, healthier, and better person.

The LOVE and PRAYERS I got in all the texts, messages, and even emails reminded me that I am not actually ALONE. I am so grateful to all of the members and Wellness Partners that reached out or even just interacted with my Instagram stories about what happened in my little corner of the world.

REDEFINING COMMUNITY & FAMILY

I have been seeking community for most of my life because I had to raise myself and left my childhood home at 16. I have been no contact ever since, with no siblings or parents in my life. Which at times feels unbearable. Imagine not having a mom to call - ever.

I have a unique perspective on the concept of COMMUNITY. I have moved over 10 times in my life, have been to 6+ churches, and lived at my College Campus in a small Community made up of older, international students. I learned that blood did not automatically mean family. And peers did not automatically mean friendships. This theme carried well into adulthood. I had to get to know people, connect, learn from strangers, and come to realize that there is such a thing as chosen family.

Joining a networking group, a hobby-based group, a local church group, or any other kind of group get-together does not mean or guarantee you will find true COMMUNITY. Maybe you will have some things in common, and that will feel nice for a while. What you may discover is that social get-togethers fill one kind of cup in your life, but it does not mean you will bond and find people that show up for each other.

The best example I ever saw of "UNITY" was actually in the Mormon church I visited several times with a friend while in College. I had visited many different churches because I had friends at University who came from different cultures and walks of life. I was not raised in a specific religion or culture. I was only raised to survive. So I went out into the world to learn what was around me, what the meaning of life was, and what culture felt most like home for me.

In the Mormon church I attended, they had 4-hour-long church sessions every Sunday. EVERY HOUR WAS DIFFERENT. It was so organized, unique, and educational. They would mix up members in different ways each hour and had different classes going on. The final Sunday of every month, they had a potluck. Everyone stayed SIX HOURS or more on those days. Several times, my daughter and I were there having the absolute best time with the kindest people.

You know what stood out so much for me? Everyone genuinely wanted to be there. The more the merrier.

Without fail, every single Sunday, during the second hour, the whole church would attend the same class all together. A Community gathering in between all the shuffling around to different rooms. They spent that entire hour taking turns up at the front of the room to ASK, SHARE, and GIVE. They called each other brothers and sisters. SISTER SUSAN needed her lawn mowed because she had hip surgery and was elderly with no family. DONE. A young mother and father needed some help with a meal train after welcoming their second child. DONE. A man needed a job because he was new in town. EVERYONE would mumble, think, and then go to him after with ideas. DONE.

My hometown church on Long Island, NY was filled with people who attended for 1 hour on (some) Sundays and then cursed each other out on the road. No one really knew each other well, nor did they try to. People were very divided in my hometown in general, either clustered based on their religion, culture, or economic status.

We were all very different in that room. No one asked me for MORMON ID. No one asked me how old I was (and I was unmarried, 18, with a toddler while in College). No one asked you if you had things in common or if you were going to sign up and be a member for a price. It was not about being there on shared beliefs. Not even Mormon beliefs. An atheist even sat in that room, ironically.

What I learned from my time there was the power of GOOD CHARACTER and VALUES (from the majority of attendees).

Community, as I now define it, is a group of people who come together for the sake of showing up for each other. Not because there is instant gratification or a reward. But because it is the right thing to do. Life, as we all know it, is not an equal experience for all. We are not all succeeding on the same level. Some of us have no family around. Some of us are secretly growing and isolating, while posting to social media that business is booming. Some of us have 3 jobs to make ends meet and it still doesn't. Some of us are still healing from severe childhood trauma. Some of us are going silently through a divorce. Some of us lost a child or parent to addiction. Many of us do not have the same hobbies or interests at all. We are all so different. Though some of us actually have the same struggles and just are not speaking out about them - due to shame, embarrassment, or fear.

I began speaking BOLDLY and healing out loud in my early 20s, after surviving my childhood home and being grateful I was able to leave with my life. Because it was that serious. I realized if I got out of that life, I needed to make the most of my second chance. To become a good person, strive for good things, and give my daughter a good life that was far away from what I grew up with.

I am now a mom of 3 (and counting), a wife, an entrepreneur, and to the best of my efforts - an aspiring Community leader.

COMMUNITY is not a buzzword for me.

When I host Wellness Wednesdays and give opportunity for members to present, I hope that other members will show up to watch and experience that person's talent and genius. Witnessing someone else's passions is one of the most beautiful human experiences that has ever existed. In the first quarter of hosting WW at LaunchSA, I watched many members present, and it was amazing. What I took note on is how many people showed up for others, engaged, and even thanked the presenter.

It gave me good insights on how I can shift this next quarter to better serve this growing Community and help shape it.

I started San Antonio Wellness Collective out of a true desire for COMMUNITY. Not just a gathering of Wellness Entrepreneurs, Small business owners, Social Club leaders, and other wellness-minded professionals. A COLLECTIVE of unique perspectives, experiences, and skill sets. That is the real value here.

We might have a shared GENERAL genre. However, WELLNESS is very broad. Which is underrepresented in San Antonio, Texas at all the local events and networking gatherings. Wellness is not just about going organic, hitting a gym, or seeing a therapist. It is not all about spiritual healing or coaching.

I have two objectives as a founder and leader:

1. To showcase a BROAD perspective of what wellness is as I build out this Wellness Business Ecosystem.

2. To FOSTER COMMUNITY amongst everyone I bring together. The kind that shows up for each other and unites for the purpose of growing stronger together.

This is not a chamber or another business networking group. San Antonio has a ton of those, some of which are really amazing and doing impactful work out in our city.

What I am building out, both through the in-person initiatives and the APP I am developing, will give many of us a sense of belonging and camaraderie that has been missing for so long in our lives. Especially for founders, startups, and small business owners.

It can be lonely building your own business. But it does not have to be.

It can also just be lonely being an adult, trying to keep it all together as you do it all. The business, the family, the relationships - and nearly nonexistent self-care + self-development time.

SAWC is for the people who care about having the best life, quality over quantity. It is not about instant gratification or having privileges others do not. If that is what you seek, this may not feel aligned for you. I still encourage you to stay and learn. Soften.

This next chapter of SAWC is going to DEEP DIVE into what it means to HAVE a real community.

I need all of you to get involved and truly engage, whether it be on polls on Instagram stories, by filling out the new Google Forms I will be emailing out in the newsletter, or best of all - showing up to a meeting or event I throw.

This is FREE for you: to take a poll, fill out a form, or show up somewhere I arrange. Which really challenges people to care. Some people hear FREE and feel it will lack in intentionality, value, or outcome. FREE means accessible. It also means SHOWING UP purely out of good character.

I am not keeping a record or judging anyone. This next chapter is not about keeping a score on who does show - it is about inspiring people to participate in COMMUNITY building that breaks the ice. Redefines WELLNESS. Pushes us to find our humanity, sit in a room with people who are different than us, and even dare to be uncomfortable. With the thought of giving, not just taking.

Many of our members may be struggling, feeling lost, feeling hopeless, or having too much on their plates. Many of our members may be isolating themselves, and we do not even know it.

This ECOSYSTEM I am building is not for show. It is for the WELLNESS of entrepreneurs, the development of business professionals, and the strengthening of San Antonio as a whole.

I want this Ecosystem to become the reason more Wellness businesses develop, more collaborative events happen, and fewer people quit or move away from SATX. I can create the opportunities, the initiatives, the events, and the rooms that are not superficial - but impactful. IT WILL TAKE EVERYONE TO MAKE IT A TRUE COMMUNITY.

The best way for you to commit to the concept and show up for the opportunities is to follow the SAWC Instagram. Plug yourself into this Ecosystem and participate in it, with a willingness to learn, give, and grow.

Get signed up to the newsletter to be involved in events, collaborations, and Wellness Wednesdays. Email me to ask for a coffee meetup. I would love to meet you and learn all about you. Not just about your business, but YOU, the human behind the LOGO.

Written by: Jean Grey Soto
Founder & Ecosystem Builder, San Antonio Wellness Collective

Jean Grey Soto is the founder of San Antonio Wellness Collective, a community-driven initiative dedicated to helping wellness entrepreneurs connect, collaborate, and grow. Through events, strategic partnerships, storytelling, and ecosystem-building projects, she is working to create greater visibility, opportunity, and impact for wellness businesses throughout San Antonio.

Linktr.ee/sanantoniowellnesscollective