Re: Peace is a Co-housing issue
From: Dirk Herr-Hoyman (hoymanddanenet.org)
Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2007 07:13:10 -0800 (PST)
Somewhat lurking behind this point is whether Cohousing is within the "mainstream" or somehow alternative. I myself would prefer to work within movements that are or will soon become more nearly something for everyone. That, in turn, implies some diversity of viewpoints of those who are involved. Somewhat like organic food, which 10-20 years ago was seen as highly niche and now is found in nearly all the grocery stores where I live. If I were to look at this as a bell curve distribution, what I'd like to see is a large coverage across all segments of our society. We aren't there yet and may not get there (if ever) for another generation. Still, I would rather see
a larger tent of inclusivity for Cohousing.

Of course, I'm not going to be against those that wish to have some cause they take up as a community. There are many, many intentional communities that have some
larger purpose that drives them.

By the way, Arboretum Cohousing is one of the communities that had it's "flag" out
at the recent peace rally in Chicago.

--Dirk

On Dec 16, 2007, at 2:52 PM, Larry Miller wrote:

"For me, I view cohousing communities as being those communities which are actualizing the
principles of cooperation, environmentalism, and peace."

I was one of those who requested that the discussion was not an appropriate subject for the list serve. My purpose in suggesting that was based, not on opposition to the subject, but on a sense of what makes cohousing work - or not work. Cohousing doesn't work for everyone. After several years in cohousing and observing where I and others had the most trouble adapting, it is my conclusion that the biggest impediment is a preconceived notion of what people who are in
cohousing believe in or agree on.

Everyone moves into cohousing for the first time with some set of expectations on what it means. The reality is that, while there may be a philosophical agreement about environment, diversity, peace, etc., there tends to be little agreement on what that means in detail. As soon as one starts thinking that others "should" behave in a certain way because "we are cohousing," it leads to disappointment and difficulty in getting comfortable in the uniqueness of your
particular group of neighbors.

Larry Miller
Oak Creek Commons
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--
Dirk Herr-Hoyman
Arboretum Cohousing in Madison, WI
http://arboretumcohousing.org



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