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community growing
August 2009 
I'm Heading Off For Awhile
Posted on Jul 21st, 2008
by 
asecondlifediary
asecondlifediary
YOU'VE HEARD JOHN LENNON'S SAYING? "Life is what happens to you when you're busy making others plans" ... well, that's what has happened to me. Life has come up with a plan for me, which I didn't particularly have in mind for this time.
Since Cal and I met in real life a couple of months ago, our relationship has changed and I'm still adjusting to that change. We still love one another dearly, but the 'intimacy' that we used to have has evolved into a more comfortable friendship - at least I think it has. We're still looking at the options of perhaps living in the same intentional community, but for the moment neither of us know if that will happen, or if it does, where it will happen.
We had spoken about him coming here to Australia and I've looked at one place (too cold) and made contact with another (too expensive) and it was on my mind that when I had the time and money, I would go and check out a few communities further north from here. Then, out of the blue, my new next door neighbour contacted me expressing a wish to buy my house in the country (where I haven't lived for a couple of years). The house has been left empty during that time, and after agonising over it for a day or two, I decided that yes, the time was right for me to let the house have a new life for itself, with new owners.
So .... come settlement day, I will be all cashed up and it seemed opportune to head off on a road trip - to have a look at different intentional communities, but also to finish a journey I started 20 years or so ago, but got waylaid during.
This time I will be heading west, along the Great Australian Bight and over to Perth, up to Darwin and then back down the east coast of Australia. I've set myself a time frame of one year.
This is a long-winded way of saying that my involvement in our Second Life intentional community will be very much reduced in the coming 12 months. I will be taking my laptop with me and doing some writing, but won't have constant internet access, which will be a good thing for me as SL has become quite an addiction for me. I'm looking forward to occasionally coming across an internet cafe and being able to interact with the lovely community which is growing up there.
My time on the road will be spent thinking, reading and writing and taking walks and photos. Nothing more demanding than that. (Apart from the challenge of living on $200 a week, which will be a story in itself).
But the big news is that FINALLY I think our community is starting to take shape. There are around 15 or so members now and a core group of eight who are quite committed to the ethos we are developing.
The island has remained natural (apart from a welcome sign, a couple of rugs and some tiki torches) and we have a gallery which members seem to be enjoying using. Our next exhibition will start off with one photo which might be of say, a boy on an elephant in a jungle and the next person has to put up a photograph of something which has a connection to that - it might be of a boy, an elephant, jungle or perhaps someone riding something different. I'm really curious to see what our final photo will be of. It's a kind of six-degrees-of-separation kind of thing.
Another step forward has been our marooning for the month of July. Dayana, our exotic voluptuous dancer member, has been the most conscientious - I think she's only ventured off the island once - while I got bored by around the 18th and was seduced by an invitation or two off island. But the idea of being shipwrecked on the island, did help us to really focus on spending time together.
This has been helped by a recent innovation where we have decided to establish a skybox over the top of the island where people can go for privacy. I've set it up in rather neutral colours, but we thought we would try a roster system where (for example), I would decorate the skybox in my taste or theme for the week (which might end up being a month) so I get a chance to bring out all my furniture and precious possessions which don't really 'fit' or suit the theme of the island.
The next week (or month), it will be someone else's turn to decorate the skybox in their taste. This means we will have the opportunity for creativity, both in the gallery, the skybox and on the island. All areas on the island (and above) remain communal, so while someone might occupy a particular spot for that particular time, no one has 'ownership' over it.
We now have a range of 'experiences' - the natural island; a gallery where we can display art and personal photos; the flying submarine which is a real Jules Verne experience and which everyone loves; a Paradise Blanket which rezzes a holodeck which enables users to choose a location such as Paris, or Venice or the Garden of Eden, or a camping spot etc. And now, with the privacy skybox, we also have someplace for couples to interact with one another in privacy.
I was really gratified when one member, who has a house elsewhere in SL expressed the thought that maybe they would give up their house and focus on the community instead. This, I believe, is a step in the right direction.
Soooooo .... from here on in, posts from me will probably be a bit scarce. Hopefully Cal will have the time to keep everyone up to date, or we may find someone else in the group who might like to take it on. Either way - we'll still let you all know what's happening in our lovely little world.
Mia
(Picture above: Our very lovely flying-submarine which is proving to be a popular gathering spot for the community).
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