Intentional Community

My name itself leaves little doubt from the start that there's likely to be some "hippy" factor to my existence. When I started this "housing adventure", I felt it would be a chance to put to use many skills and pieces of my life, as we all do. Among the variety I expected to use, my times exploring differently structured societal alternatives was one, but not so often as, nor in the ways, I seem to find myself doing so of late. 

Prior to age 20, I had chance to explore a few pieces of the Intentional and Egalitarian Community network  within North America. These experiences took place stretched over time, scattered as far back as I can recall.

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My Oma set a trend for our family, of sorts, by being a person that enjoyed exploring different  living styles.  During the second half of her life she travelled annually for a few weeks, exploring cultures in various countries Globally.   These were sometimes on guided tours or with family or friends, many times with a stop to her birth land, the Netherlands, to visit her family. As the youngest of 13, she had many siblings who overall have remained well connected despite their pegged distances on a map. She enjoyed sharing her travel tales and sharing time with those she grew up with and hearing their stories.​​​

Catharina Brussé
(nee Van Leeuwen)
​1933-2018

Continues below

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In the same style as my Oma, my mother explored, but differently, looking at intentional community through visits and travelling more locally, when able, in alternate accommodations to the standard hotel stay  I also enjoyed some other trips; once with my Oma to Belize for a week, another time I was sent to stay with my family in Holland for a month to learn about my heritage and  meet my family.
In my later teens, I continued this trend, exploring some places myself as a young adult.

I knew these times were part of what my "lived experience" had to offer walking into this volunteer position, but never expected how much it would apply in so many ways. 

I find myself pulling for thoughts and ideas from this area of my life often, as the eclectic groups Ive encountered throughout my life seem to be forming a solitary unit. I've been unaware, busy as we all become with life itself, of what I can only call a distinct growing thought trend demanding focus on our communities social development, in it's own sense, our desire to live in a more intentional community with more connectivity to its people. Many more people are recognizing the isolation we have created within our current societies social structure and finding it to be faulty. Collectively, we seem to seek a way to overcome it, as more individuals find themselves coping with its effects on a day to day basis. Some are specifically looking to know more about alternative styles of living, contemplating their potential to resolve the variety of problems we are facing. 

So, true to my name, let's talk a bit of "hippy", starting with some links and information on the topic of various styles of intentional community. You'll find these on my site in various places. As I run across ones I enjoy, I will also post them on social media. ​​

One of the things about community, that  I think at least, is that each persons voice is very much their own. They dont have to agree, and full consensus is not a norm, as I recall, but there's a level of respect between all in knowing that even when views don't align, even when your opinion is the "unpopular one", that you will still be heard in sharing it, and that it will be welcomed. That's the beautiful thing, we each have a perspective, each one deserving to be heard. 

(However, NO hateful or volatile comments allowed - These will be deleted as they divides us when we need to be aligning ourselves) 

​There are so many types of intentional community, please feel free to share your story or thoughts on the topic in comment below.

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Here are some other videos intentional communities on YouTube

Have you ever wanted to drop out of capitalism?

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Route 66: Free living and liberty at a rural commune

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