Beyond Romance: Love and all it forms

We live in a culture obsessed with romantic love - finding "the one," couple goals, relationship status updates. But what about all the other loves that actually sustain us? The friendships that feel like coming home. The mentors who see us clearly. The chosen family we build when blood relatives are oceans away. The community that shows up in crisis. The hard-won peace with ourselves. The place that holds us. The spiritual connections that ground us.
The ancient Greeks recognized 6 distinct forms of love beyond romance:

• Philia - Deep friendship, soul-level connection
• Storge - Familial love and chosen family bonds
• Agape - Unconditional love, showing up without expectation
• Ludus - Playful, joyful connection
• Pragma - Enduring, committed love built over time
• Philautia - Love of self, your relationship with yourself

For this conversation, we're exploring how these loves show up in our lives as expats in Chiang Mai - and since many of our deepest connections here cross cultural and racial lines, you're welcome to bring one non-Black friend who is part of your story about finding love beyond romance in this city.
This isn't a generic "everyone's invited" session. If you bring someone, bring them because they represent one of these loves in your life - the friend who became family, the mentor who changed your trajectory, the person whose playful energy keeps you sane, the one who shows up unconditionally.
We'll talk about:

• Which loves are actually keeping us alive here vs. which ones get dismissed as "less than"
• How we grieve friendships, mentorships, and chosen family when they end (because we have no rituals for that)
• What it means to love a place that isn't "yours," to build connection across difference, to maintain spiritual bonds from afar
• How we navigate forgiveness in small communities where grudges are luxury we can't afford
• What happens when people judge us based on gossip before ever meeting us - and how we love ourselves through that
• How choosing ourselves by moving abroad was its own radical act of self-love

This is about celebrating the loves that society tells us don't matter as much - and recognizing that for many of us living far from "home," these loves aren't supplementary. They're survival. They're everything.
Come ready to talk about the people, places, and practices that actually hold you together. And if one of those people isn't Black - bring them. Let's honor the real relationships we're building, whoever they're with.