Nutshells Niblets
Feb 2013
My Book (Page) Report
Author- Diana Leafe Christian
Title – Creating a Life Together- Practical tools to grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities
Publisher - New Society Press
Status- Highly recommended book. You can get it from the library.
My report is on a single page - 220 about ‘Who does well in community?’
My report’s title --- Hey there iPig!
My daughter surprise gifted me with an iPod. And thus also endowed me with an addiction to pinterest. But already, I digress. :>)
I think the device’s highest and best use is for me to doing some writing --- hence this book report.
Diana’s book Creating a Life Together has been a household companion of mine for the four years I’ve lived here. It follows me around the house. I dip in and browse randomly through it and find insights on every page - the kind that are of practical daily use - about seeking peace using good communication, learning lessons from other cohousers, crafting agreements that prevent conflict and much more.
In an intentional community like this, we’re not expected to be able to cope with its life-complexities alone. When one is ready, there are resources of all kinds around available- including books like Diana’s. And I’m most keen to share this one with you! :>)
Say! That reminds me of emoticons. I mean this kind :>) and this <3 … and seldom this … :>( I have never done this one… :>$ And I think this makes a cute mouse <3~
Now when I’m signing a quick card or a note I draw my happy faces sideways instead of upright. Go figure!
But I digress. Sigh. I seem to have the attention span of a sand flea.
Diana Leafe Christian is the author of two books – Creating a Life Together and Finding Community and she’s the editor of Communities magazine
There you’ll find articles to read online. I suggest that you do that right now instead of reading my comparative drivel. Look on the right side for her ‘most read articles’. My current fav is ‘Busting the myth that consensus-with-unanimity is good for communities ‘
And also scroll down the middle panel to find Vivian Viallant’s article about life here in our village... ‘Creating Ecohousing’.
Hey! You’re still stuck reading me.
Nice.
Back to the book -- page 220 - Diana talks about the qualities of people whose lives demonstrate they can get along well with others --- Who does well in community?
1. Someone who doesn’t ‘need’ it.
2. Someone with a healthy sense of self
3. Someone who is open to and able to see other points of view
4. Someone with a sense of connection to people and an interest in the well-being of others
5. Someone willing to abide by group agreements
6. Someone willing to speak up
7. Someone wiling to be quiet and listen
Diana has more to say about each… but you get the drift with the titles.
I hasten to add that Diana … and we too, are not expecting all these qualities all at once, in our all villagers or village-wannabes. That’s what we have the rock-polisher for. Since that’s on page 221, you’ll have to read about that yourself. Suffice to say it’s about everyone’s rough edges being polished smooth by contact with others.
Sorry.
There’s no escaping the rock-polisher here.
Yikes!
And there is such good news,too. (Perhaps you see it already? We haven’t accomplished this wonderful village on a farm or enjoy each other’s company this deeply, without some well-earned smoothness. Oh! the joy of having polished off even a little roughness! In fact, I don’t think I can live outside cohousing now. And I hear this sentiment echoed in others, too.)
I sign with contentment --- at last I’m the twenty-first century. I have a life in an ecovillage, a hand-helpd* device and a bungee-jumping attention span.
* a hand helpd device. Did you notice my typo? Don’t you find those wiggly red lines under words draw your attention to funny or insightful things? Isn’t it a delight?
But I digress. Again. :>)
I’m noticing more things I’d put on Diana’s list. ‘Someone with a capacity to learn’ and how about ‘ Someone who can laugh when things go weird’ or another useful one… ‘Someone who can ace an iPig’
Have I told you yet why I have an iPig not an iPad?
Because when I’m typing … sorry keyboarding… with two fingers from my monkey hands** and not looking at the screen, the cursor( curser) jumps all over the place and then starts autocorrecting its own spelling. One day I looked at an email I’d sent and it had autocorrected its own signature to call itself an iPig. What can I do but laugh and go with the flow?
(Monkey hands** -- these are my artist hands. I just watch them doing things--- jumping around. Making stuff.)
As I said, life here requires a certain je ne sais quio.
So in summary-
Read the book. Creating a Life Together
Look at Communities magazine online. http://communities.ic.org/
Both are good.
Love,
Ann
Sent from my ipig
PS… Quoi ? Why didn’t it correct my French … je ne sais rien?
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