Finding Community

We occasionally have Folks who ask us: "When you make this kind of shift, how do you find Community to support the practice?" To which I would 1st note: "When you are ready, the Teacher will emerge."

We have been embarking on this practice for a period of 15 years. Once we launched the practice, it was so deeply satisfying and deeply right, we just could not turn back. We just kept on, adding more and more, going deeper, feeling better and feeling right. Some thoughts along our way in answer to the question above are as follows. At each of these treasured locations, we have found Kindred Spirits with whom we share the Path. I would probably call it "sheer magic" as I think about the dynamic, the conversations, the relationships that have unfolded.

• Shop at a Natural Food Store. Ours up North was Amazing Grains. We shifted toward buying almost all of our groceries there. They had a little Food Bar with great Soups, Sandwiches, Teas, Desserts, Smoothies, and such. They even offered monthly evening meals along special themes.
• Join a Co-op where People buy natural and organic Foods in Bulk. Ours is delivered once a month at a local Church. Our smiles widen to see the collective who gather there.
• Buy Raw Milk direct from a local Farmer. Our "Milk Club" meets once a week for Milk and other related dairy products, Meats, Feed for the Animals, among others; they come direct from a farm family who live about an hour away. About 12 to 15 Families are involved. We love them. They are very much a part of our support network. We share Plants, Stories, Problems, Solutions as we gather on that hard parking lot across the Seasons.
• Shop at Farmers' Markets, or just hang out there.
• Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) where you contract with a Farmer who provides Fresh Produce (sometimes Meat and Eggs too) across the growing season.
• Know your Farmer. I think it is a Sacred Act to provide Food for another.
• Many Farmers and their Families like it when you come out. If yours does, plan on an excursion at a time which is mutually beneficial.
• Seek out Free Range Chickens directly purchased from a local Farmer. This initiative really opened us up to community right here in our new home. Two Phone Calls was all it took; the Natural Foods Community was right there at our fingertips, whereas it had been unknown before.
• Go to "you picks", like Orchards, Berry Patches. Marvel at what shows up and who shows up. I have had some marvelous conversations with People I never knew existed before. But I guess I find that I can talk to just about anybody.
• Grow your own Food in a community plot if you don't have space at home.
• Make a commitment to eat local. Some put "within 50 to 100 miles" as the limit. Others extend it to bordering states. Allow a certain number of Foods which go beyond (for vinegars, flours, etc.)
• Check out places which offer Yoga, Acupunture, Tai Chi, Meditation, Naturopathic Medicine. Kindred spirits are likely to abound.
• While in the beginning I felt "alone" in this practice, I began to find community at every turn. Remember, this is a movement and it is huge. Folks are at long last coming home to the Earth. Celebration and awe become surprise companions along the Path.