Re: ecovillage and sustainability

On 2 May 2004 at 11:27, [email protected] wrote:

> Having not yet directly experienced life for an extended period in an "intentional community" or 
> ecovillage, I lack expertise, and would be very presumptuous to claim any. But I clearly remember 
> the gut feeling I had after spending a weekend at a very enlightened spiritual community (whose 
> name I will omit) in the Pacific Northwest. Although the people there were gracious and 
> openhearted, full of interesting visionary ideas and smiles, by the end of the weekend I felt a bit 
> stifled. I remember one evening when we were all cooperatively washing the dishes, everyone 
> joined into one of their group anthems about creating an enlightened, peaceful, and ecologically 
> sustainable future "day by day, stone by stone." All I remember at the time was a sudden craving 
> for my usual dishwashing music--the Rolling Stones, turned up loud. Needless to say, any such 
> suggestion would have completely ostracized me from the rest of the happy, enlightened group...
> 
> Likewise, a year or two ago, I spent a week at a Buddhist retreat, and while it was, overall, a 
> wonderful experience, I was similarly glad to leave--no longer obliged to recite the "five 
> remembrances" before every meal, nor maintain a "noble silence" in the interstices of the various 
> activities. While the mindfulness training was very good for me, I was relieved to return to "the 
> world" where I could drink coffee (and beer or wine, if I liked), speak freely and openly, and do as 
> I wished.
> 
> So, needless to say, I am still quite hesitant about creating or joining my own ecovillage. On the 
> other hand, I wholly endorse all the basic values underlying ecovillages--permaculture, 
> sustainability, community. But I also need, in my life, the freedom to say exactly what I think (albeit 
> tactfully), and the spice of wit, irony, and sarcasm. These would be hard to come by in any 
> "intentional community;" they would likely be seen as indicative of a bad attitude, and get me 
> expelled. 

I just wanted to say that I think you are drawing too much of a conclusion from your 
experiences at these two communities. I know for a fact that it is very wrong to say 
that at all communities you cannot play the music you wish or say a witty or sarcastic 
comment, or in general be who you want to be. It seems clear that these two 
communities you mention are not the places you want to be, and that is why they 
were uncomfortable. At the community which is for you, you would I'm sure have felt 
much more comfortable with how things were done.

Ken Walden
Meadowdance Community

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