Reading this as the sun rises over the hills and fog lifts from the river. As always, your writing is beautifully insightful. More of a nomad during the last twenty years, recently I have been waking up to the realization of how held I am within the larger earth field. And this has arrived with the recognition of home in multiple locations, deeply so in NV. There was a particular moment 3 or so years ago when, looking out over the valley, I could feel how the midwestern hardwood forests were a part of my inner ecology, and that now it was time to be held by another kind of land…desert, mountains. And even still, having returned to the river for the fifth summer I feel deeply held within the constellation of relationship and layering of time and experience.
I notice, wherever we go, sooner or later we find ourselves within community. The magnetism towards holding and being held seems like a natural and strong inner tide.
I think we are similar, in this way of feeling rooted more broadly in Earth than in a particular place. Though I am perhaps less of a nomad, and less drawn to dry places.
I have a sense that I am not rooting permanently where I am, but more incubating and building a practice of connection and presence that I will be able to carry with me.
I could speak a lot about intentional communities, as I have been a member of one for most of my adult life, and have visited many others as well as organic farms and permaculture sites that host people and can be a sort of temporary community. It's pretty tricky to work toward the goal of a community of like minded people that many are looking for. The community that I live in has been around for over 50 years so is one of the more long-lived and successful intentional communities around, but for someone who's looking for a place that everyone is working toward a common goal, they generally don't find what they're looking for here and end up disappointed, and either leave or find other reasons to stay. They may realize that despite not being what their initial hopes and dreams are, it's a place that has been functional enough to survive over a half century, has a large chunk of beautiful land, interesting people, and opportunity to spend more of one's time doing the things they genuinely like to do, although the last one is dependent of the things they like to spend their time doing being things that work in this environment. While there are some common values shared, such as being a worker owned cooperative that doesn't have top-down exploitation, there are also a lot of people who are here for vastly different reasons and thus the group cohesion isn't what people who who visit often expect.
For me though, my community having room for a broader range of perspectives is also part of the reason I've stayed here rather than settled at one of the many other places I've been to. I tend to question things too much to be part of a group with a more narrow vision, and I've never really been one to fit into a tight-knit group. I've had good experiences for a time visiting such situations, but realized that it was a nice place to visit for a bit but could never be a home.
A lot of forming intentional communities that try to have a more specific vision end up having trouble finding members who are able to stay and make it their home. An exception is some of the religious communities, which I have limited experience with, but they have some different dynamics going on. I did briefly visit a community in southern Iowa that had 60 people there, 20 of them kids, and were more sustainable than any other place that I've ever been to by a significant margin. They took care of their own needs and desires well enough that they only needed $1.30 per person per day to cover all that they needed to buy. I only went by for the day and it was pretty impressive, but the catch is that it's a very Christian community, one with a pretty unique, unusual, ecologically oriented version of Christianity, but still a place where one has to buy into a very specific belief system. I can see how such a belief system could help a community have to cohesion to go more fully in a direction away from the mainstream than most large groups can hope to manage, but I'd never personally be comfortable in a place with that sort of dogma, whether it be religious or a purely secular dogma.
I'm with you about preferring a situation in which direct experience with one another and pragmatism matters much more than credentials and licensing. This is one of the things that I like about my community, there are people here who have anything from advanced degrees to not even a high school diploma, but what's important isn't what degree someone has but if they have skills and knowledge that are actually applicable.
Since you're interested in intentional communities and seed growing, I'll link to a podcast that I was interviewed for that discusses these very things, landrace plant breeding in the context of an intentional community, in case it's something you'd be interested in.
I tend to favor a type of community living that is closer to an intentional neighborhood than a commune. A place where each person or family has their own zone of autonomy, their own kitchen, bathroom, outdoor space, etc., and where there is also common gathering space, shared garden space, shared trails, community gathering times, etc. I see conflicts arise most often when people try to live as family, to bring communal decision making (and meetings) into too many aspects of life.
And - overall - I see our living situation as just one of the ways in which we hold each other and are held. An important piece, but also not our sole lifeline of connection with other humans. So that we can choose into and out of these communities as our own alignments and priorities shift.
Adored this exploration and this line below in particular. You'd think this truth is something we couldn't forget, but alas...so thank you for the reminder, from one Earthling to another. <3
"And, we are Earthlings. Wherever we are, on this planet, we are home. We can grow roots quickly in new places, fall in love with new creatures, feel the same current of aliveness that runs through mountains and plains, rainforests and deserts."
I had no idea you launched the Winnow Wizard - a brilliantly conceived, complex but effective machine! It was at a demo that I met the native seed folk I worked with for six years. We never know where our influence ends. Best to you for whatever grows next. My chosen place holds me well, though I hold it alone.
I'm glad to hear you have encountered the Winnow Wizard! It seems like something of a past life for me now, though I still have some involvement in manufacturing. There are fewer than 150 of them in existence and yet they seem to have touched many lives and communities. I'm looking forward to following your land stewardship essays.
Everytime you write, some new awareness opens in me. Thank you, Markael. May you be held in peace and love wherever you are.
Thank you Jiluna, and may you be held in peace and love as well!
Reading this as the sun rises over the hills and fog lifts from the river. As always, your writing is beautifully insightful. More of a nomad during the last twenty years, recently I have been waking up to the realization of how held I am within the larger earth field. And this has arrived with the recognition of home in multiple locations, deeply so in NV. There was a particular moment 3 or so years ago when, looking out over the valley, I could feel how the midwestern hardwood forests were a part of my inner ecology, and that now it was time to be held by another kind of land…desert, mountains. And even still, having returned to the river for the fifth summer I feel deeply held within the constellation of relationship and layering of time and experience.
I notice, wherever we go, sooner or later we find ourselves within community. The magnetism towards holding and being held seems like a natural and strong inner tide.
Thanks Markael for this lovely contemplation.
Thank you Emma!
I think we are similar, in this way of feeling rooted more broadly in Earth than in a particular place. Though I am perhaps less of a nomad, and less drawn to dry places.
I have a sense that I am not rooting permanently where I am, but more incubating and building a practice of connection and presence that I will be able to carry with me.
I could speak a lot about intentional communities, as I have been a member of one for most of my adult life, and have visited many others as well as organic farms and permaculture sites that host people and can be a sort of temporary community. It's pretty tricky to work toward the goal of a community of like minded people that many are looking for. The community that I live in has been around for over 50 years so is one of the more long-lived and successful intentional communities around, but for someone who's looking for a place that everyone is working toward a common goal, they generally don't find what they're looking for here and end up disappointed, and either leave or find other reasons to stay. They may realize that despite not being what their initial hopes and dreams are, it's a place that has been functional enough to survive over a half century, has a large chunk of beautiful land, interesting people, and opportunity to spend more of one's time doing the things they genuinely like to do, although the last one is dependent of the things they like to spend their time doing being things that work in this environment. While there are some common values shared, such as being a worker owned cooperative that doesn't have top-down exploitation, there are also a lot of people who are here for vastly different reasons and thus the group cohesion isn't what people who who visit often expect.
For me though, my community having room for a broader range of perspectives is also part of the reason I've stayed here rather than settled at one of the many other places I've been to. I tend to question things too much to be part of a group with a more narrow vision, and I've never really been one to fit into a tight-knit group. I've had good experiences for a time visiting such situations, but realized that it was a nice place to visit for a bit but could never be a home.
A lot of forming intentional communities that try to have a more specific vision end up having trouble finding members who are able to stay and make it their home. An exception is some of the religious communities, which I have limited experience with, but they have some different dynamics going on. I did briefly visit a community in southern Iowa that had 60 people there, 20 of them kids, and were more sustainable than any other place that I've ever been to by a significant margin. They took care of their own needs and desires well enough that they only needed $1.30 per person per day to cover all that they needed to buy. I only went by for the day and it was pretty impressive, but the catch is that it's a very Christian community, one with a pretty unique, unusual, ecologically oriented version of Christianity, but still a place where one has to buy into a very specific belief system. I can see how such a belief system could help a community have to cohesion to go more fully in a direction away from the mainstream than most large groups can hope to manage, but I'd never personally be comfortable in a place with that sort of dogma, whether it be religious or a purely secular dogma.
I'm with you about preferring a situation in which direct experience with one another and pragmatism matters much more than credentials and licensing. This is one of the things that I like about my community, there are people here who have anything from advanced degrees to not even a high school diploma, but what's important isn't what degree someone has but if they have skills and knowledge that are actually applicable.
Since you're interested in intentional communities and seed growing, I'll link to a podcast that I was interviewed for that discusses these very things, landrace plant breeding in the context of an intentional community, in case it's something you'd be interested in.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4xAIfmRcOUMWXWXWVjTN9T
Thanks for sharing the podcast.
I tend to favor a type of community living that is closer to an intentional neighborhood than a commune. A place where each person or family has their own zone of autonomy, their own kitchen, bathroom, outdoor space, etc., and where there is also common gathering space, shared garden space, shared trails, community gathering times, etc. I see conflicts arise most often when people try to live as family, to bring communal decision making (and meetings) into too many aspects of life.
And - overall - I see our living situation as just one of the ways in which we hold each other and are held. An important piece, but also not our sole lifeline of connection with other humans. So that we can choose into and out of these communities as our own alignments and priorities shift.
Adored this exploration and this line below in particular. You'd think this truth is something we couldn't forget, but alas...so thank you for the reminder, from one Earthling to another. <3
"And, we are Earthlings. Wherever we are, on this planet, we are home. We can grow roots quickly in new places, fall in love with new creatures, feel the same current of aliveness that runs through mountains and plains, rainforests and deserts."
Thank you Stephanie!
I had no idea you launched the Winnow Wizard - a brilliantly conceived, complex but effective machine! It was at a demo that I met the native seed folk I worked with for six years. We never know where our influence ends. Best to you for whatever grows next. My chosen place holds me well, though I hold it alone.
I'm glad to hear you have encountered the Winnow Wizard! It seems like something of a past life for me now, though I still have some involvement in manufacturing. There are fewer than 150 of them in existence and yet they seem to have touched many lives and communities. I'm looking forward to following your land stewardship essays.