Showing Up Anyway

On the Invisible Work of Building Community

There’s a part of this journey I don’t talk about often.

The part where I post something meaningful and get silence in return.

The part where I plan an event or host a gathering and only a few people show up—sometimes none.

The part where I wonder if anyone’s actually listening.

The part where I question if it’s working. If I’m doing enough. If I’m enough.

Building Create Space as both a brand and a home for healing has been one of the most purpose-driven things I’ve ever done. But it’s also been one of the loneliest. Especially when it comes to building community.

The Hope and the Hard

I had big dreams when this began. Still do.

Dreams of a community that feels like family.

Of online spaces that feel just as warm and real as in-person ones.

Of connection, conversation, creativity, healing.

Of people coming together to make meaning out of the messiness of life.

But the truth? Building community is hard. Especially in a world that’s constantly moving.

Where algorithms bury what matters.

Where people are overwhelmed and burned out.

Where “showing up” often looks like numbers, not names. Metrics, not memories.

And still I keep showing up.

Why I Keep Going (Even When It’s Quiet)

Because I believe in this vision.

Because I know that healing doesn’t happen in isolation.

Because I’ve seen what’s possible when even just two people connect deeply.

Because even when no one shows up, I do.

Because maybe someone out there is reading, watching, listening—quietly being changed—and they just haven’t told me yet.

Maybe that someone is you.

I’ve had to redefine what community means to me.

It’s not always a crowded room or a viral post.

Sometimes it’s a DM that says “I really needed this.”

Sometimes it’s a returning name on a Zoom screen.

Sometimes it’s someone lighting a candle they bought from the shop and feeling just a little more grounded.

Community isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s quiet and slow and sacred.

Digital & Physical Spaces That Take Time

It’s one thing to host an event. It’s another thing to build a culture.

To create a space that people return to because they feel something real there.

That’s what I want.

Not a flash-in-the-pan moment.

But a slow-growing, heart-led ecosystem.

Where people come as they are, create what they need, and feel like they belong.

And I know that kind of space doesn’t just appear.

It takes time. Consistency. Intention.

It takes the courage to keep planting seeds even when the ground looks bare.

It takes posting when you’re tired.

Creating when you’re unsure.

Holding space when you’re the only one in the room.

That’s the part no one glamorizes.

But it’s the part that builds something real.

To Anyone Else in the Building Phase

If you’re trying to build something meaningful, an art project, a brand, a community and it feels like no one’s showing up, I want to tell you this:

Keep going.

You’re not crazy for believing in something you can’t fully see yet.

You’re not alone for wondering if it’s working.

You’re not wrong to feel discouraged sometimes.

But don’t let the quiet convince you your work isn’t worth it.

This season might not be about visibility, it might be about roots. And the thing about roots? They grow underground before anything ever blooms above the surface.

You’re doing sacred work. Even if it looks small from the outside.

Even if no one claps for it.

Even if you’re the only one in the room right now.

Keep holding the vision.

Keep creating with heart.

Keep making space or others, yes. But also for yourself.

With belief in the slow work,

Ariel