Daniel and I spent this past week in Texas visiting Daniel’s parents. The trip was a delight. They’ve retired to a quiet farm and have, I’m certain, the world’s goofiest dog. Here’s Mac with the toy alligator Daniel and I bought him… The weather was sunny and warm almost the entire time. We ate. A lot. Ribs. Cowboy Beans. Chicken Fried Steak. Potato salad. Meatloaf. … [Read More]
I’m joining the SOPA and PIPA internet strike today. Sadly, the Collective Self site has a new and too-complicated-for-me theme, and after hours of failing, its time to admit that I’m not technologically savvy enough to get the official “on strike” banner across the top of this site. Grrr! Anyway, I can do this much. Please consider going to one or more of these sites and learning … [Read More]
I’ve been giving these questions my attention for 6 months now: What is community? How do we create community? How do I know community when I see it? Especially when I’m with people who think, look, and act nothing like me/my groups? I didn’t go looking for these questions. They found me somehow. Still not entirely certain why I’m so determined to have these conversations … [Read More]
Today Daniel and I cancelled our satellite TV package. We noticed this fall that: When we’re tired after work, we often plop down onto the couch and mindlessly watch TV for no other reason than that it’s the easiest thing to do. Sometimes for hours. We don’t even like the programming on about 190 of the 200 channels, and we spend a ridiculous amount of time … [Read More]
I happened across another blogger yesterday who was publishing his top 5 blog posts from 2011. That seemed like an opportunity to reflect and learn, so I decided to do the same. As I did the research, I found five different top 5s that matter to me. So here they are. What a gift this year has been! Lori’s Top 5 These are my favorite. … [Read More]
Some days I imagine that I, as an individual, have courage. Other days, like today, I realize that I am utterly surrounded by courageous people, but what I myself have isn’t courage. What I have is a deep sense of wonder and an unshakable gratitude for the courageous people around me. A quick Google search reveals courage as: The ability to do something that frightens … [Read More]
This post is for my friend Ali who asks questions that keep me young at heart. Today Ali asked “Does familiarity decrease the generated happiness?” [within a group] I’d like to start by saying that I have zero interest in putting up barriers to human happiness. So if you disagree with what I say here, please be happy about it. I will be. An easy … [Read More]
A remarkable new community member, Anthony Lawlor, got me thinking about transitions this morning. In August I blogged about the experience of consciously moving from four different perspectives: individual, self-organizing group, community, and planet perspectives. He’s curious about what the transitions between these places look like. I am too, which may be why, although we’ve only just met, I’m already pretty sure that he’s a … [Read More]
Most of the groups I study are physically local to me— in my city, my neighborhood, my region, and my home. We’re huge fans of all things local here in Seattle. Fortunately, in the land of human connection and ideas, there’s another kind of local: emotionally local. This is a conversation I’ve been having with one of my emotionally local self-organizing groups this week. Six months ago, … [Read More]
This large-ish question appeared on my radar this week. Thank you, Lori Schilling, for meeting with me Wednesday and your willingness to tell your story and have a delightful conversation with someone new. It was from our conversation that this question emerged for me. I also need to thank Doug Nathan for suggesting that I connect with Lori. Lori and I sat in a bakery … [Read More]
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