Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: The Self vs the Greater Good

[Zia Terhune (ziaterhune]

Can someone instruct me on how to unsubscribe?

On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 9:43 PM, Sharon Villines
<sharon [at] sharonvillines.com>wrote:

>
> When someone tells me "Think of the greater good. The good of the larger
> community," what I observe is that they aren't thinking of the greater good
> at all. They are bored with the reality of me sitting there saying, "No, I
> don't want to do this. I don't consent. This isn't good for me. And i don't
> think it is good for any of us regardless of whether 90% of the other people
> in the room agree with me or not." Or "This policy doesn't make sense. At
> least it should be logical."
>
> It is easier to think about finding water in Africa or bringing education
> to girls in Iran than to work that through, again.
>
> I don't bow to the "greater good" because I find that it inevitably means
> "the majority." Asking individuals to forget about themselves is to forget
> what cohousing was formed to do: To create communities where individuals can
> live happy lives and do whatever work they are called to do. To be truly
> selfless is to have a strong sense of self.
>
> Whenever I find myself thinking about The Big Issues, what I really want is
> to feel elevated. To feel that i'm doing something important. To be
> connected to something earth changing. To be recognized. But the people who
> change my world are the ones who take my do do seriously, and fix it. I
> think they would like me to do the same. If I eradicate an -ism, their do do
> will still be sitting there.
>
> I think the most world changing thing I can do is to get through the day
> without hurting anyone's feelings. In cohousing, I find that is close to
> impossible — not only to do but to remember not to do. Much easier to plan a
> strategy to solve world hunger.
>
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> "It is harder to be kind than clever. KIndness is a choice and hard.
> Cleverness is a gift and seductive." Jeff Bezos' Grandfather
>
>
>
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