Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Individualism and togetherness

[Mmariner (Mmariner]

Joani Blank said:

>Perhaps I am overly idealistic, but somehow I got the notion that people who
>were eager to live in cohousing were not only willing but actually eager to
>give up a large measure of individualism (assuming they still would have as
>much privacy as they might require or desire) in order to maximize all the
>goodies of living in community in their new living situation. 

My experience from meeting/knowing people who've lived for years in
intentional communities is that many are unique, strong individuals.
 Cooperation, collaboration and doing one's share in the community shouldn't
result in loss of individuality -- a healthy community should support and
nurture members in their evolution.  Many (not all) indigenous tribes
understood that balancing individual growth and community interest was
critical.

Perhaps in early stages of living communally, it seems like the individual
must sacrifice to the group, but hopefully not when the community is more
mature....

=MikeM=