I was shocked to hear Virginia tell me that we foreigners are all lost and what are we running away from anyway? Something I wasn't used to hearing coming from my circle of expat friends in Madrid where constantly changing the country you live in is seen as the ideal life. But she saw it quite differently and it was a good lesson for me and made me think. She tried the living abroad thing for the summer in England, and even though it was great she finally decided it was nothing like living with the support of her family. She was perfectly content to come back after the summer and continue living with her parents.
As I was going through a fun exercise of brainstorming how to contribute to the places where I'll be going (playing music, singing, face painting, crafts, yoga, games) I was struck that each idea came from an example of a community I was a part of. That it doesn't have to be labeled as such to be one. This was such a great discovery that I had to make a list.
I have to agree that living with family in your hometown can feel wonderful. That's what I'm experiencing in St Petersburg after many years of living independently. People spontaneously doing things for you that you didn't ask for and asking about every detail of your life might sound annoying to some, but it's actually nice for a change. My roommates have never made me healing tea in the middle of the night for example!
Alas what to do when intuition pulls us to the next country? Not much but to trust it and keep going until you feel like it's time to stop. Trust that the time will come when it needs to come. (See below for a hint about where I'm going next!!) For my next project I want to learn about communities, what are they, what do they mean to their members, what does it mean to choose your community as opposed to family/neighborhood that you didn't necessarily choose. Maybe even test out what role I like to play in them.
As I was going through a fun exercise of brainstorming how to contribute to the places where I'll be going (playing music, singing, face painting, crafts, yoga, games) I was struck that each idea came from an example of a community I was a part of. That it doesn't have to be labeled as such to be one. This was such a great discovery that I had to make a list.
We had been talking about doing something during the super moon for a few days before. Demetrius brought a drum to Sunshine House, we went to the beach, gathered branches, and lit a fire. We sat and talked and drummed to the full moon and I felt really connected to them.
I had never had a yoga class with a gathering after, but then I met Eliza. The brunch after the class became one of my favorite activities of the week, having meaningful conversations from a just-cultivated peaceful and lovey feeling.
In Taizé monastery the mass consists of songs, the same songs all year in many different languages for the international crowd that comes. You can see people going through many different emotions during the singing and I myself had tears in my eyes more than once. When I went again to a service in Madrid and heard and sang the same songs I was transported back to the huge church and felt the same open and heartwarming feelings.
Victor, my WWOOF host at the Valdepielagos eco village, invited everyone to morning meditation. It was freezing outside on the deck, but he lovingly prepared the yoga mats and thick blankets. We followed him in 3 creaky (he's older) sun salutations, he pointed out where the sun would rise, and then we were on our own. It took little effort but it was perfect.
And lastly, Burning Man. This place is one huge community experiment. I was especially struck that the parts and pieces we were putting together to make supports for all the acrobatic stuff (dubbed The Rig) then became a major gathering place at the festival. A bunch of metal and fabric became a community space!
What's fun is that with a setup like that, minor small-scale spaces easily sprout up with little effort. Two examples. There was a big rug by itself to the side. A few chairs put into a circle on the rug and people naturally started gathering there. Another was the face paint. A spontaneous purchase, it somehow made it's way out and a folding chair was made into a working table. We had zero experience, but tried it out on ourselves, and soon had a camp full of painted faces. A simple idea but so much happiness.
What's fun is that with a setup like that, minor small-scale spaces easily sprout up with little effort. Two examples. There was a big rug by itself to the side. A few chairs put into a circle on the rug and people naturally started gathering there. Another was the face paint. A spontaneous purchase, it somehow made it's way out and a folding chair was made into a working table. We had zero experience, but tried it out on ourselves, and soon had a camp full of painted faces. A simple idea but so much happiness.
For me community means creating a space. It doesn't take much, but it does require conscious attention and follow-through from at least one person. Then people can create and play within that structure. I'm already sensing into the many other elements of this space, but that's for another blog post.
I agree with Virginia that you need a support structure, but I wonder what that has to look like and if one can recreate it in new places? I have a feeling that yes (Yay for Couchsurfing.com!)
And now for the hint for where I'm going next ;)
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