Community

Visions of community have filled my mind since the birth of my first daughter almost fifteen years ago. The ideas encompassed much more than extended family but rather a complex system of cooperation that was based on making healthy life choices in an unhealthy world.

Over the years I shared my dreams with many others seeking similar ideals. I have held tight to what others told me was impossible. Many have come and gone and even some have returned years later to see aspects of the dream unfolding. Today, on this beautiful full moon, I am beginning to sense the depths of much hard work as the dream comes full circle.

We are in the last stage of our renovations for the community space of The Growing Green Co-op that will open this July. The space will serve as a distribution point for sustainable products and services throughout Connecticut in a city that desperately needs to be revitalized. The community center will house our earth based programs for kids including our six week youth activist camp, a healing space and workshop space where we will show films, offer how-to classes, host community events and our year round farmers market.

We have reached the tipping point. When government and the economic marketplace fail to provide quality goods and services to the public, people have historically cooperated to provide for themselves and their families. Co-ops form in response to local needs. The Growing Green Co-op is a consumer driven co-op that has evolved out of a desire for availability of high quality, local, sustainable products as well as the desire to support local, sustainable businesses through our Green Business Referral Network.

We are a vibrant community of extraordinary like-minded folk who are determined to grow our local economy- including the development of our own "CT Currency" while walking more lightly on the earth. Around me I have my immediate community that includes my Beloved and all of our children, "green" business leaders joining with us who are also striving to lead the way towards sustainable living & community members that have such diverse interests and talents who are looking to share with others. We are growing by leaps and bounds.

Persistence does pay off, but for me, it is just proof that when we follow our truth then we are led to places of wholeness. The community I desired to raise my children in has manifested around me. We live in a most magical world.

Busy & Balanced

Many of us are beginning to feel the mounting craziness, if not in our own lives then in those around us. This presents an interesting predicament...how to be balanced in an unbalanced world. Here we all are - striving for balance in an attempt to make ourselves less crazy - yet living in a world that is getting crazier. This is the real test.

Finding our balance comes when we are strongly rooted - to our core, to the earth, to our visions. It requires daily practice. We learn from the insanity of our lives and our repeated attempts to stay sane. There is such a fine line.

I am bombarded daily with distractions of everyone around me. My children help me develop my meditation practice because they constantly pull me off my center. As a result, I have become diligent and well practiced at getting back on track repeatedly throughout the day.

It is most important at this time to remember what is important - to let our values guide our lives. We need focus, clarity of our intentions and direction. We need to strategize, organize, mobilize. This world is going to get a bit crazy and we need to be prepared - to put our multi-tasking talents to the test.

Most importantly, we must not get distracted. Our hearts will guide us to what is real and from there we can respond pro-active, positive manners. We must tap into our internal strength and begin to plan.

"I want to plan my future and realize that this is futile in the way I had once thought about that. Instead I am spending an enormous time weaving, circling, meeting, networking, bonding, collaborating, visioning and anchoring my roots to all the strength I was born with. " from ALisa Stakweather, posted on THE MAMALUTION network (http://www.alisastarkweather.com/).

Let us join hands, hearts and wisdom and grow this grassroots web of women who are (de)revolutionizing the planet.

Being a BUSY Mom

Some weeks are more busy than others. Sometimes unpredicatable things come up that need to be handled along with everything else that needs to be done or there are several major deadlines all culminating at once. It's been one of those weeks for me!

It is times like these when I have to step back and reflect on what I am doing to make sure that I am staying true to my path. Sometimes the panic, frustration, anxiety and stress can take over and cause turmoil. During these moments I may make a compromise - like skipping my morning yoga session for writing that has to get done...sometimes those deals extend for weeks. I may choose a massage or acupuncture over my yoga routine.




The trick is knowing when I get off center and pulling myself back. It is about being able to be in the moment even when we are not doing our most desired thing. It's knowing the rhythm of our own flow so that we don't do too much or do too little. It's about taking the moments to nurse our children, sit in a yoga pose without multi-tasking or be silent and just connect with our breath. It is about appreciating Mother Nature.

With practice, we naturally begin to gravitate towards this middle point. We begin minimizing the distractions in our lives so that we maximize our potential and not waste an ounce of energy. No more energy draining relationships, pointless conversations or visions that go nowhere. We begin to prioritize our lives, set boundaries and live our dreams - right here, right now.