[It's a cold, still morning]
I'm up a little earlier than usual because my mind keeps going back to last night. It was a very dramatic Community On The Land committee meeting. The "visitors who don't fit in" were accelerated in their departure. (I guess it isn't fair to use the passive voice there. I was facilitating the meeting where we asked them to leave faster. Everyone else agreed.) They say they'll be gone in three days if they don't need to wait for a check to arrive. For the amount of pain they've been causing, the community is happy to pay them to leave faster. Thankfully, another visitor offered to donate the cash because the organization doesn't have a budget line item for "paying people to leave faster".
As for beginnings, I got some feedback on the draft of my caretaker proposal at the same meeting. People seem to like it and support my vision. It will go before the Coordinating Council on Sunday where they will decide whether I can stay here longterm as a caretaker of this place. Right now the sanctuary really needs the skills that I bring to the table, so I think it will go smoothly.
Becoming a caretaker would mean that I'm not moving back to San Francisco. I'd go down, pack my stuff, and move it here. This is a huge step in my life, but one in the right direction. It would make my budget less tight, and put me eight hours closer to Annie, the weaver who's hired me to weave for her and is helping me get started selling at the Renaissance Faire.
Immediately after the meeting last night a bunch of visitors arrived on their way to Portland, including the fabulous Stella Maris. It'll be nice to spend some time with them this morning before I start my day of weaving.
During tea this morning I am watching a pair of shy, tiny and beautiful yellow-rumped warblers catch insects in the meadow. It seems like they don't like me watching them so they sit in the tree behind me, swoop down to catch a bug and return to the tree. When I turn to look, they flee and return a minute later.
[Image from the iBird Explorer app]
2 comments:
What makes a visitor "not fit in" at Wolf Creek?
Thanks for asking. I know we have a reputation for being loose with our expectations, and there really is a lot of room for personal expression here. It takes a lot for things to go so far that someone is asked to leave the land.
We are a close-knit community here, living an intentional, gentle, rural life. Here are some things that don't work with what we're doing:
- Unwillingness to "plug in", doing chores, hanging out, eating dinner with the rest of the community, etc.
- Being unaccountable for your actions, by drinking or just refusing to hear concerns
- Feeling the need to "get away" and drive to town for junk food and mass-media culture several times a week
- Blaming others for any problems that arise
- Creating dramatic scenarios that threaten other people's safety
Any of these things taken singly might be OK for a while, but when they all come together and remain constant for a month or more, it feels pretty awful for everyone.
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