Let Me Introduce Our Community
Posted on Jun 3rd, 2008
by 
asecondlifediary
asecondlifediary
THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS have been very busy as I focused on the very creative and satisfying work of terraforming and landscaping our new island.
Cal isn't so interested in 'hands on' work and he is happy for me to have express my creativity without restriction - what an opportunity! Everyone should create their own world - it's so therapeutic and rewarding. It truly is SOOOO satisfying.
But by far, the most rewarding experience has been the addition of our members!
Porena, the first person to join us, has established a very good site in NING for us all to communicate through and will be holding our first class - on Consensus Building. He's also planning a Dance Party which will be great. I've already bought a couple of primitive dance animations which I'm hoping can be accommodated inside a dance ball for everyone to use.
Porena is also involved in a real life intentional community as well, so he's kept busy on both fronts.
Another of the first to join us is Archer, who has been fantastic, providing tech know-how. Her first fabulous addition was a very useful teleporter so that visitors can pick a place on the map at the central landing area and whizz straight to it. (It may not be 'natural', but hey, this IS SL after all). Why not take advantage of technology that has no adverse impact? Archer will also be conducting some Personal Development classes and continuing tech support.
Artic was another early arrival and she has taken on responsibility for Promotions and Public Relations for the group and island. Artic was involved in one of the most spiritual places in SL, so her expertise will be invaluable. She's also studying tourism in First Life. Her first priority is to gather a team around her who can contact other like-minded groups in SL and offer them a tour of the island to see if they would like to form a link with us and other conservation groups.
Flocke has put her hand up for building projects and wherever else she may be needed; Sojourner is also keen to lend a hand wherever he feels he could be useful. A very old friend of mine Hope63 is very much the philosopher and I'm looking forward to sitting down around the fire when Hope brings his philsopher friends around.
I met Boron in First Life when I visited an intentional community here in Australia and it's great to have him on board with his partner Gem, who will be assisting Artic with our promotional work.
Aramis is our wild biker man - a keen horseman and exponent of natural living. Mikele is another dear friend, but one who is undergoing a bit of an emotional tsunami at the moment after the ending of a very precious romantic relationship. While she wants to belong to our community, she feels now is not really the right time for her.
It will be our first emotional challenge as a family and community - to ensure that Mik, when she finally does return to us, feels secure and a part of us.
Another imminent event we have on is a photographic exhibition by Boron, who has lived in a real life intentional community for over 30 years! Cal and I are also working on holding a regular Trivia Time or Quiz - Cal will prepare the heavy-duty questions and I'll do the light and frothy - name three characters from "The Beverly Hillbillies" for example.
Because we are such an international lot, the best time we've come up for meetings is 7am Sunday for Australia; 5pm Saturday for Canada; 11pm Saturday Europe and 2pm Saturday SL time. We have the meetings in our central landing circle, and a very wild looking biker avatar appeared out of the ether last week, sat down and participated in our discussion, joined our group and left behind a really funny piggy-back animation for us to share - that was Aramis.
In organising the layout of the island, my first thought was to put a circular landing area in the centre of the island so that the range of 'interest spots' would be an equal distance away.
Next, we had to have a mountain to give the island some 'depth' and interest. But oh my god, what a challenge terraforming a mountain is! Increasing land volume in one area, diminished it in another. Flattening something would bring it up. Smoothing it, would ease it away. It was just this huge amorphous mass, which was like jelly to manipulate!
After putting in the landing area (people arrive anywhere in SL via teleport so they just 'appear' on the landscape), my first priority was planting the orchard. Click, click, click and I had a short avenue of white apple trees, gently dropping blossoms on the path. Very romantic. I've already told you about what was planted, but I think it bears repeating - just to get your senses stimulated - gorgeous strawberry plants, then a rich-looking eggplant (aubergine) and some juicy-looking tomatoes, a little row of lettuces and a cabbage, some parsley of course and basil, an orange tree or two, some pineapples and corn.
I'm still looking for wheat, a beehive and bees, some chickens and a cow to complete the 'look'. When that is done, we will have a great 'visual' example of how it's possible to be self-sufficient by having your own food in your own garden, rather than relying on huge multi-national food monopolies/supermarkets.
One of my friends in SL was given a beautiful galleon as a birthday present and because she didn't have anywhere to rezz it (make it appear 'in world') I offered her one of our bays at the island. To give access to her guests, I modified a bridge and turned it into quite a nifty-looking 'wharf', complete with coloured Chinese lanterns for that festive air. I was looking down at it today from the mountain and it would be such a loss if it weren't there.
The galleon is another example of self-sufficiency in that because it's wind-powered (and man-powered), we don't have to be reliant on petrol companies for fuel. Imagine shipping companies going back to windpower! Conjure about the vision in your mind - now isn't that far more romantic than a cargo ship?
I do hope we manage to attract a botanist to the island. I'd love to have an accurate representation of the planet's vegetation types. So far I've just planted good-looking plants and trees with no thought at all to ecological impact.
As far as I'm concerned, Cal and I are just providing the canvas, with a few details sketched in until our community attracts more of the people it is meant to attract - people who will fill in the rest of the picture.
Over on 'the mainland', which is how I think of our Canadian land mass, Cal's magnificent cave stands as the main focus for attention. It is just a gorgeous creation - dark, moody-looking rocks and vibrant blue waterfalls and exotic flowers - and a sensual carpet of luxuriously green moss on which to lay.
Generously located across the island are lots of little 'snuggle spots' where people can seek privacy. I've now placed out a couple of games tables - mahjong and chess and hope to establish an archery range at some point.
One of the most satisfying projects for me has been the establishment of walking tracks through the mountain. I love spying a certain kink in the land and thinking, "Mmmmm, I think I could make an interesting little path there." Because the views to the west are blocked by our mountain, I've placed a set of meditation cushions up there for those who like to meditate in the late-afternoon (while another set has been placed near our Wisteria Bridge to the east).
Cal has left a couple of his horses out and before long I hope to have another couple available for visitors to ride.
One of the things that I would love to see happen here is that the people who have joined us will just naturally take on responsibility for whatever areas that appeal to them. As they spend more time on the island, trying it on for size and fit, they may also adopt specific areas which appeal to them and make them their 'own'.
All in all, life is pretty damned good still. Cal is working a lot to make up for having a holiday in April, so we haven't spent as much time together as we have in the past. I have plenty to do on the island and community though, so I'm busy as well. We spend an hour or two together each day/night catching up, but I do miss the unfettered freedom of the past when we gazed adoringly into each other's eyes, lost in our beautiful fantasy.
We'd love to see you on our idyllic island - so if your interest is piqued, please leave a message here for us and we'll let you know where we are.
Namaste
Mia
P.S. The photo above is of a few of us on a group tour of the island at the cave - left to right are Flocke, Archer, Gem and Aramis with me in the front. (I have a Mysti Tool attachment which enables me to rezz and 'attach' chairs to me so that I can take people on a guided tour as they sit behind me). Second Life makes just about anything possible!
Access: Public
consensus building class
August 2008 