At Last! Our Island!

Posted on May 21st, 2008 by

AT LONG LAST we have our own island! After several weeks away from Second Life and then a delay for the land to be delivered, it's here. I've spent the past week terraforming (shaping the undulations on the land) and landscaping ('planting' trees and vegetation) and placing the cave, bridges etc.

One of the pleasures has been creating lovely little places where people can settle into nooks and crannies and sit by the pond, or wander through the orchard, or take a trail up the mountain, look out over the panorama etc. I'm so pleased with how it's turned out, and I'm REALLY looking forward to people 'trying it on' - like you would an item of clothing - to see how it fits, and how they fit it.

We've already had ten people join our group and we'll be meeting soon for everyone to talk about what they see as being important aspects of our life together. For me, I would like to see our new society remain a very simple, natural environment to live in. Because we don't have to protect ourselves from the elements, shelters aren't really needed, although I suspect that women (perhaps myself included) will feel a need to have some kind of 'home'. So, as much as possible, we would like those to be kept simple - like a bush camp or basic shelter.

I haven't mentioned polyamoury in any of the information we've put out in SL, as we discovered, through previous experience, that this only serves to attract a certain type of person looking for 'easy sex'. And of course, it's not about that at all.

What we would like to see here are people with full, open, loving hearts living together co-operatively. This is an opportunity to start again - create a world that brings us happiness and satisfaction. It's a chance to create an 'ideal' world where there is social justice and a clear conscience that we are giving, not just taking, from the planet (or at least the 'planet' as far as our island is concerned).

I particularly like the ethos of the aboriginal people - where we belong to the land, the land does not belong to us. Looked at in that light, I think we will do a better job of looking after the planet that gives us so much.

One of the areas I really like in our Paradise, is the orchard. I've 'planted' apple and orange trees, strawberries, pineapples, tomatoes, eggplant, cabbage, lettuce, parsley, basil and corn. I'm on the lookout for bees and a beehive, chickens, potatoes (or yams) and perhaps a cow. Having food in SL is only symbolic of course, but it also serves to illustrate how simple life need be.

Not being a botanist, I can't say that every vegetation type is represented, but aesthetically, I'm happy with the look and feel of the island. There are a couple of lakes and ponds and I've represented Australia with a desert area and tropical rainforest. Canada is more general in vegetation - but it has the big mountain, so is very much a focal point. I couldn't resist having snow falling on the mountain top, even though I know Cal is sick to death of snow!

One of our new members is working on scripts (computer language which makes things move or do things) that will eventually give us a guided tour of the island. For now, it will power a raft from one side of the island's lake to the other.

I will be organising a monthly market to highlight what we are doing on the island, but also as a means of earning some income perhaps.

So life is pretty damn fine at the moment. If you would like to visit us in Second Life, just leave a message here and I will contact you with a landmark.

Namaste!

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Tagged with: Second Life, Intentional Community, Belong To The Land, Environment, Polyamoury, Island Paradise