Me too. What we have or are capable of is certainly better than nothing/not trying, but yes, reality is far less shiny than our ideals. Thanks for reading!
I experienced a small taste of communal living a few years ago when I took a course in building with cob at Cobb Cottage Company out in Bandon, OR. Although I wasn’t there long enough to get a true read on any of personal dynamics that might be going on among the teachers and residents, I did come away with a feeling of harmony and shared work ethic. There also was a sense of peacefulness that I experienced again this last summer when my wife and I visited Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. The Pueblo site was abandoned in 1600, but as we toured the site on foot an overwhelming feeling of calmness and tranquility washed over us. It’s crazy to think that positive energy could still be hanging in the air or maybe resonating from the rocks but it was the kind of good vibe feelings we usually only got after a full day of sitting on the beach and staring at the ocean. I came away with the thought that maybe that comforting sense of community lies buried somewhere deep within us all despite the harmful distractions of modern society.
I love this sentiment, and agree! Certainly living in this way alongside one another exists somewhere in our DNA, and I am grateful that so many of us are waking up to that knowing and awareness. I certainly think that harmony and shared work ethic is prevalent in communities, but when it comes to really needing to ensure things function sustainably over the long term, there are a lot of challenges.
Thank you for sharing! I too have been attempting retribalization as I like to call it. Met some awesome village grandmas I love, stay in contact with and visit when I can. Sadly I couldn't create the structure for us to inhibit. I think looking towards the Amish, how a strong belief system can overcome the culture around it is an inspiration for what we could do, if a different sort of belief system was to arise. Or as things continue to collapse, the hardship should make the benefits of community greater and greater. Maybe a small group, as small as possible, all in alignment and slowly growing over time is what it'll take. I'm not sure.
I had a dinner with random city people on the Timeleft app, a young woman told me she wishes she could care about living in community and growing food, but she doesn't. The abundance of our society allows us all to be disconnected. A lot of people don't care about community or are too corrupted by surviving in modern life. Another big herdle I see if that most of the US community is illegal, or has been made so expensive to be only for the upper crust. Cohousing for example is usually only in big cities, very expensive, and created mostly by retired rich white people.
I like your take, it's a lucid and nonjudgmental assessment of what defines more authentic communal living. I once visited an intentional community for a few months and got a good taste of what it's like to consistently reciprocate with many others on a daily basis to meet essential life needs of everyone. It came with its challenges, but they were some of the most content, compassionate, and good-faith people I've been around.
I've also traveled for many years by myself doing work exchange and house/pet/farm sitting, which are more community-oriented forms of travel. When I began traveling in that way, I experienced a really uncomfortable adjustment period, but after repeatedly putting myself in situations where I had to rely on others (and they had to rely on me), I experienced the natural unfolding of human trust and generosity, time and again.
Well-written! And profoundly disheartening. I agree with you. And I strongly wish things were not this way (and becoming more so by the year)...
Me too. What we have or are capable of is certainly better than nothing/not trying, but yes, reality is far less shiny than our ideals. Thanks for reading!
I experienced a small taste of communal living a few years ago when I took a course in building with cob at Cobb Cottage Company out in Bandon, OR. Although I wasn’t there long enough to get a true read on any of personal dynamics that might be going on among the teachers and residents, I did come away with a feeling of harmony and shared work ethic. There also was a sense of peacefulness that I experienced again this last summer when my wife and I visited Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. The Pueblo site was abandoned in 1600, but as we toured the site on foot an overwhelming feeling of calmness and tranquility washed over us. It’s crazy to think that positive energy could still be hanging in the air or maybe resonating from the rocks but it was the kind of good vibe feelings we usually only got after a full day of sitting on the beach and staring at the ocean. I came away with the thought that maybe that comforting sense of community lies buried somewhere deep within us all despite the harmful distractions of modern society.
I love this sentiment, and agree! Certainly living in this way alongside one another exists somewhere in our DNA, and I am grateful that so many of us are waking up to that knowing and awareness. I certainly think that harmony and shared work ethic is prevalent in communities, but when it comes to really needing to ensure things function sustainably over the long term, there are a lot of challenges.
Thank you for sharing! I too have been attempting retribalization as I like to call it. Met some awesome village grandmas I love, stay in contact with and visit when I can. Sadly I couldn't create the structure for us to inhibit. I think looking towards the Amish, how a strong belief system can overcome the culture around it is an inspiration for what we could do, if a different sort of belief system was to arise. Or as things continue to collapse, the hardship should make the benefits of community greater and greater. Maybe a small group, as small as possible, all in alignment and slowly growing over time is what it'll take. I'm not sure.
I had a dinner with random city people on the Timeleft app, a young woman told me she wishes she could care about living in community and growing food, but she doesn't. The abundance of our society allows us all to be disconnected. A lot of people don't care about community or are too corrupted by surviving in modern life. Another big herdle I see if that most of the US community is illegal, or has been made so expensive to be only for the upper crust. Cohousing for example is usually only in big cities, very expensive, and created mostly by retired rich white people.
I like your take, it's a lucid and nonjudgmental assessment of what defines more authentic communal living. I once visited an intentional community for a few months and got a good taste of what it's like to consistently reciprocate with many others on a daily basis to meet essential life needs of everyone. It came with its challenges, but they were some of the most content, compassionate, and good-faith people I've been around.
I've also traveled for many years by myself doing work exchange and house/pet/farm sitting, which are more community-oriented forms of travel. When I began traveling in that way, I experienced a really uncomfortable adjustment period, but after repeatedly putting myself in situations where I had to rely on others (and they had to rely on me), I experienced the natural unfolding of human trust and generosity, time and again.