Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: cohousing v. other uses of your energy

[Monty Berman (mberman]

Dear judith,
        I, too, responded to the question about personal energy into 
CoHousing. What I want to respond to in your response is your phrase at 
the end about "personal work." I think your reference to such work is 
slanted differently than mine, 
but working out things with the over 40 or so others in our project 
over the four years or so of our co-creating the First Neighborhood in 
EcoVillage at ithaca has been a crucible that has prompted, pushed, and 
provided much in terms of my own personal work, that is, the work I have 
needed to do on myself. I have, for the most part, hated every minute of 
when I didn't get my way, didn't get the feedback I was looking for, had 
to tolerate (barely!) what I didn't know how to influence---I could go on 
but you get the idea. Yes, CoHousing as Vehicle for Personal (and 
spiritual) Growth---that could well serve as the focus for a thesis.

Monty Berman, EcoVillage at Ithaca, First Resident Group

On Wed, 29 Nov 1995, 'Judith Wisdom wrote:

> This is not really an answer to the question posed below so much as a
> "opposite side of the coin"  consideration.  The question to consider
> along with the one offered below, which is quite fair and one I expect
> many have pondered, is, How much have I been energized and/or relieved by
> the connection/support/and social glue of living somewhere where there is
> communal purpose, support, sharing, etc., making me more productive in my
> own personal work? 
> 
> Judith
> **********************************************
> 
> baschel [at] ksg1.harvard.edu wrote:
> > 
> > Hi.  I've been a lurker on this list for a while, am very interested 
> > in cohousing, but not quite at a stage in my life where buying a home 
> > seems plausible (maybe soon).
> > 
> > My question, which is both a matter of personal concern and related 
> > to a paper that I'm in the middle of writing, is to what degree do 
> > you feel that the energy required by developing cohousing has taken 
> > away from other things that you would like to do.  If so, what has 
> > suffered?  I know that people involved in cohousing probably give 
> > more to their communities than average, but would they give more or 
> > less if they weren't doing cohousing as well?
> > 
> > Thanks a lot,
> > 
> > Elizabeth
> > 
> > "No one has the right to despair.
> >  We all share the responsibility to hope." -- Oscar Romero
> > 
>