Sometimes I worry that our society is heading down a path that seems too fast and smooth. Are we steadily climbing the hill of progress with out really knowing where it goes?
Perhaps its like a train heading up a hill with the tracks ending in a lake on the otherside…. for those of us that know this, there are three options:
Take over the engine room and slow it down/send it on a different path
(the reason why I am involved in Green Party politics)
Take over the brake room and bring the train to a halt
(the reason I study and believe in anarchism)
Build flotation devices for our train car so that we can unhitch from those that didnt when we hit the lake and turn our train into a boat.
(the reason why I am involved in Atangard)

The middle one is the most violent and socially jarring, the first one is the most difficult and the last… well we still end up in the lake.

Can we act within our social circles and within the limitations of our selfishness to look beyond our community and grades, families and careers to things that are lasting?

You could say this is a spiritual ideology but it is also a earthy earthly one.

Lets build some floats, support those who want to take over the Engine room and pay attention when a few “fringe” activists want to break into the the brake room.

yes it is dan….
of course who else

It’s one year today since we acquired the keys and started renovations. Six months that we’ve been living here. Dad and I were recounting it the other day. He said that it was up there with some of the most challenging things he’d ever done in his life. Actually, it was second on the list only to overcoming his period of illness. This challenge was definitely the most trying that I have ever faced, mind you I am a lot younger than he. Often in the midst of the overwhelming chaos I could only see what was right in front of me, the next thing to be done. There was never a moment to celebrate because each small victory lead to another obligatory duty. All this to say, I had only a very vague hope of what the future, what living together would look like. Actually, I did not really plan what I thought it would look like, I only had a hope that it would work out. That there would be interest enough to fill our rooms, and that it would be an enriching experience for its duration.

And now we find ourselves here.

Sometimes I find myself still amazed that it actually came to be. That we are actually living in the Fraser Valley Inn. How strange it is. And sometimes I find myself absolutely overwhelmed by the goodness of things that I had never dared to imagine in my hopeful anticipation. Some dinners when our dining room is full of housemates and friends and good food and conversation, my heart is full. Sometimes after a directors meeting I feel blessed to have a depth of relationship to know these good people so fully, to have them work with and if need be, to fight with as well.

And then there are other times that seem somewhat surreal. I think that those are the events when you are truly caught off-guard. The impromptu peter pan dance party, Annie’s dinners, having The Geese come and play for us, and last night with Karen playing her harp and Ron speaking – these are times I will cherish.

In tension to this. I will say that it was one endeavor that pushed me beyond my capacity and at times still does. There are times when I am socially overwhelmed. There are times when I am so frustrated by messes and dirty dishes. And times when I just need to retreat to my room and try and find my peace. But I think that the hardest things in life are the most rewarding, and so I am content and grateful to be here to learn and live.

Sophie