Community doesn’t mean saffron robed hippies

Originally published at livingunplugged.com

Laura and I constantly joke about the fact that we’re quite grumpy misanthrope. Maybe there’s some truth in this. As I’ve gotten older I have become happier in my own company, and this can sometimes come across as grumpiness I suppose.

At work, I have the reputation of being irascible and sarcastic, although anyone that knows me has worked out that I’m actually a 10 year old stuck in a 46 year old body. Maybe this is why I’m cross.

I am a huge advocate of both the power and the necessity of community

How we conduct ourselves in the company of others is a concern of mine though. Our medium term plan is to move towards a simpler existence, with an emphasis on more tangible activities — like growing food, beekeeping and sharing our experiences with others (in the form of workshops).

Although my work colleagues may not believe this, I am a huge advocate of both the power and the necessity of community.

Let me explain.

I think communities get a bad rep. When people think communities and living a simpler life, their minds can automatically conjure images of communes filled with saffron robed hippies dancing around bearded gurus.

The fact is, human beings are successful because we know how to work together. No one person can farm all the things needed to thrive and make all the things needed to provide comfort and safety for themselves or their family.

I like to think I could turn my hand to most things, but there’s a limit. Could I grow corn and mill flour and repair an engine and manage some woodland and grow vegetables? Any one of the them, yes. But all of them, certainly not.

We need each other, even if we are capable of doing stuff for ourselves

I am able to bake bread because someone grows the wheat and someone else mills the flour. Someone else produces sea salt and yet another weaves proving baskets. We need each other, even if we are capable of doing stuff for ourselves.

Despite a natural desire to want to live a peaceful, isolated life on the top of a mountain surrounded by nature, the reality is that in order to flourish, and in order for my children to flourish, we need to be part of a community.

That’s not to say that we need to be best friends with everyone. Communities share a common goal — continuity. They exist because individuals can find comfort and safety as part of a larger group. Communities lend support, they fill the gaps in ability that individuals have and they help raise the next generation. You don’t have to like everyone around you, but you do have to respect both what they can provide and what their needs might be.

In our recent interview with Hatti from Parent Tribe, she talks about a scheme run by the local community in Portugal where everyone spends time on everyone else’s land blitzing big tasks (like digging wells, or raising barns).

This to me is the very essence of community. People banding together to get shit done. And I bet that when you’ve all spent a day sweating over the same patch of land, parking disputes seem like nonsense.

Originally published at livingunplugged.com.