The Village

Do you belong to a village?

Most people I suspect would say that they do, even if they don’t.
If you were to press the point about whether a person was really part of a village, you would immediately raise the defenses of the other person and start to break down any trust they have in you to that point.
Why?
Because we are all at heart, village people and it is one of the most important human traits that we all share.

You see it everywhere, on a park bench, on a stoop in the middle of a city, at a local bar and in community halls of different functions and religions.
Most of all you see it within your circle of friends and confidants and within your extended family.
So, what is it, this village thing?
It is about belonging to a group where your position within the group brings something to the whole of whatever is your village or community.
In return, we gain a sense of support for our personal existence.

Take away the connections to a village and the emotional cost of living goes through the roof.
Who can you turn to to talk about what is important to you?
If you can’t explain to someone you trust, how you are feeling, then all the negative parts of those feelings become dominant and feed a sense of helplessness and induce a paralysis of action.
We are not islands of stability when alone.

We usually don’t use the term village much any more.
We call it community but it means the same thing.
Fare Thee Well in Huntington is such a village or community and I feel strongly that it has the potential to bring peace and compassion to those who gather on its grounds.
We are at a junction with Fare Thee Well in deciding what type of community we want there.
When I say we, I am not talking about just the Board of Directors but rather the “we” being everyone connected to the place in any way.

This coming Sunday, the 22^nd. We are going to meet at Fare Thee Well at 1PM on a vision quest.
That is an understatement!
We are meeting to begin the process of defining what the Community of Fare Thee Well really is in the eyes of the people that are part of it.

Some see it as a sacred place with a religious context.
Some see it as a Nature Center.
Some people can feel the healing energy within the walls of the building and care deeply about changes to those walls that might disrupt the flow of the energy.
Some see it as a place of music and conversation.
Some want to see it as a place where teaching and education of children can be done in a supportive environment.
Others, myself included, want to make it a locus for Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry.

In short; every idea that people have for Fare Thee Well needs to be brought forth and considered. No idea is wrong unless it simply is not presented.
All of you are important in this.
No one is more important than the rest and I believe with enough participation, we can develop a consensus over the direction we want Fare Thee Well to follow.

If you can make the gathering, that would be wonderful.
If you cannot, then the next best thing will be for me to know what you think is important for us to consider regarding Fare Thee Well.
When I say “me” it is only that I will coordinate any responses, record them and present them to the group.
This will be fun!
There will be potluck, conversation, emotion and with any luck, a consensus of the moment that will lead to more conversation, potluck and emotion later on when we really get down to figuring out what to do.

Your ideas and thoughts are very important in this, so, please let us hear them.

Dave Demarey