Podcast

Podcast

I found the answers to the questions on the podcast really insightful. I found that hearing the answers added a reality to ecovillage life that I did not really think of. Throughout this class I envisioned ecovillage life to be comprised of community members already community minded/spirited who do not find it difficult to live in a communal way. I felt that although I would love to have this experience for my children and myself that I was not quite there yet mentally, not quite open to give up the independence I have grown so accustomed to. I learned from the podcast that Dr. Becker found that one of her challenges in ecovillage life was her independent spirit. This revelation opened up the door in my thinking that community mindedness is not something that just happens for some and not others it is a processes that takes effort. One of the questions presented was Do you ever get tired of collaboratively doing things? Again I assumed that people in the ecovillage live tirelessly for the shared experience. The reality is as was revealed through the podcast that of course as with many aspects of life it can be tiring to do things in a certain way. The emphasis is that when things are done collaboratively in an ecovillage every task has so much more depth of meaning than if we were to act alone. These realities really make me think that maybe I could enjoy the experience of living in an ecovillage with my children. Dr. Becker discussed how in the ecovillage her daughter had the wonderful opportunity of interacting with everyone "living and learning all the time". She also discussed what a wonderful experience it is for a parent to be able to see your child surrounded by other children always playing "spontaneous and beautiful". As a mother of three I have always wanted such an environment for my children and myself. I think what has been missing from our lives is an innate sense of trust. My children and I have always been in an environment comprised of struggle and uncertainty. We like so many other people have carried out our lives marginally connected to others, marginally connected to a sense of community. The trust that is created in environments like the ecovillage is truly a magical thing. As a mother I am always in an almost state of paranoia for my children always watching out for where they are, if there are cars, where they are playing, who they are playing with, what are they watching on TV, what are they looking at online. I can only imagine how freeing it is to allow my children to really play in an environment that allows me to open up and be trusting and supports that trust.
As far as my behavior change I have really put in the effort to eat better and buy locally grown produce. My children ride the bus more to get to school which is an hour away from our home and means one less car on the road. Ultimately my change through the information presented in this class is one of a true sense of awareness about how imperative it is to change our way of thinking. Before I would be so supportive of my children's individual success I failed to see the importance of instilling a sense of community mindedness. My biggest behavior change is working with my children volunteering our time in the community. We have done beach clean ups, we volunteer at the Humane Society, we are helping out on our neighborhood work days. My children also volunteer on their own doing whenever something comes up at their school. We are opening up and becoming more trusting as we are seeing the necessity of having a community connection.