Jordan here; coming at you live this week from Dancing Rabbit.
I am always impressed by the ever-quickening progression of things ’round here. We haven’t slowed down one bit this week; that’s for sure. Further “Crooked Route” construction took place, bent raising madness ensued once again, teams of ten at a time shuffled around large timbers that are being utilized to construct Ziggy and April’s new abode. Just today our second visitor period began, and with it, one of the more mild and beautiful spring days I have seen here in Northeast Missouri. I volunteered on Sunday to greet the new-comers as they trickled in from various corners of the world. One by one, smiling, curious souls, wandered in from the parking lot out front to be greeted by SunGee, a fellow resident here at DR, and I. Sheila had been hard at work in the outdoor kitchen whipping up a large batch of something delicious for the visitors to grub on, after a long day of travel, no doubt. I escorted a couple folks to their new home-away-from-home tent platforms which they will be inhabiting any where from one to three weeks.
In other news this week: A large gathering of DR denizen attended facilitation training. In these extensive meetings folks teach and learn from one another on all the many ways to best go about facilitating a group of folks in a formal setting. In community, this is key and can even be fun at times! I, being relatively new to DR, am quite fascinated by the process one goes through here to become a legitimate and recognized leader, in the collective conscience sense, to facilitate meetings and help guide the group towards a speedy and effective/efficient decision making process. Surely in months and years to come there are bound to be more of these progressive gatherings.
“I suppose I rose this morning simply to smell a rose”; so goes a verse from one of my songs that I revisit often in relation to keeping it “simple”. This has never meant more to me than in this moment. As I look around and am baffled by the complexities in all of our lives I quiet my mind and look inwards to a place where I know simplicity rules and acts kindly and with empathy. Empathy can go a long way in my opinion. As I write this I am inspired to stay mindful of all those who wish they had more, those that have everything and want to share, and those that care so much that they can amazingly break down the barriers between all the dividing lines to patiently and effectively bring us all to a space in which love and understanding reigns supreme. Nice huh? I like thinking that we all have this choice with each passing day and each breath. Today I am keeping it short and sweet with the hope that people can listen more to one another and be heard by their fellow people. It goes without saying that the more we can relate to each other the more we can reach new levels of communication and love. Here’s to another beautiful day tomorrow. Here’s to the beautiful day that allowed this present moment to be so awesome. Here’s to us all enjoying and appreciating every moment as if it were our last, keeping in mind, and hoping, that it isn’t.
Much love.
Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community and educational nonprofit in Rutledge, northeast Missouri, focused on sustainable living. We offer free tours to the public twice monthly from April-October. Our next public tour will be May 26 at 1pm. Meanwhile, for more information you can visit our website www.dancingrabbit.org, or give us a call at (660) 883-5511.