“community” articles

After the meetings of this past weekend, my perception of at least two friends has deepened and become richer. Much of our connection was around experiences of love and expressions of affection, and what these mean for us. They also tie in to our vision for living in intentional community. I think I can see my practice of empathy (with the support of NVC) paying dividends, and oh, does that ever make me happy.

Early into this year, several friends and I met to brainstorm about goals and concerns surrounding an ecovillage project that we are actively imagining. I took pictures of our notes, and I transcribe them here for reference, sharing, and further reflection.

Oh you, who hunger for nurturing a life of justice by living in intentional community, I want to share life with you. I hold title to a suburban home and plot in the greater Cleveland, Ohio area, where I am working to foster a space for some of us to live together and support each other. As of this writing, we have plenty of open space in this house for you to live with us, and we also have plenty of need for your help and support as we work to heal and strengthen the broader community.

This past Saturday, my housemates and I hosted a party to celebrate our acquisition of a house in which we've been living together in community since July 27. Part of the plan for the party was to put together a speech in which we introduced what we want to do with the house and the community. We each wrote up our thoughts; what we actually presented was an edited combination of these. I provide my original thoughts below, which I think stand well on their own.

We must work together in pursuit of a just world. This declaration sketches an outline for a community that has this goal at its core.