Since I initially visited the Findhorn Foundation in the north of Scotland, I have been trying to find or to create an eco-village for me here in the Ottawa Valley. I’ve thought I found and tried to assimilate into what was been classified as an eco-village in Lanark, only to discover that the integrity and traits required to live together as I had experienced at the Findhorn foundation did not exist in that particular endeavour, and so I came back to my city living doing my best to be a conscious person living on the planet as best I could in my townhome.
And then I discovered a new form of eco-village in a trailer park also in Lanark, but filled with residents who fully encapsulate all the traits of love for the land, honour in their dealings with one another, respect for their surroundings, respect for the land and the property, and most of all respect for themselves and one another. I visited a few times before I began to consider this as my potential eco-village to spend much of my summers in over the next few years, as I gradually began to fully witness how much was truly going on in this community that would conform to what Gregg Braden would call the Science of Compassion at work. Helping each other with cutting brush, building decks, various buildings for the park that will make life easier, such as a laundry building, watching out for one anothers pets, keeping everyone informed of who is there and who is expected, being transparent in all their dealings, taking responsibility for the wellbeing of the entire park and the integrity of who is present and who will be present….being present in all the happenings and sharing information is, in my opinion, what makes this community so much of what a real true community means.
I’ve certainly come to realize that the most honourable people are not those who call themselves honourable people, but rather those whom you become aware of as being honourable and who quietly move through life, improving the lot of others, improving each and every situation in which they are involved, whether it is to create greater safety for the residents at the trailer park, or to repair my carrier bag so that I can more easily carry my table, and to place some tape upon the potential tear in my stool so that it won’t tear any more.
Interesting how we are provided with what we really need, often when we quit looking, and give up on attempting to decide what it will look like. I believe that I’ve found that place, and it is fully present for me, and will give me the friendship, support and respect that I need to feel fully integrated into a community.