Page 13 - C.A.L.L. #28 - Spring 2007
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KALEIDOSCOPE
A few glimpses into a survey by Lisa Paulson, courtesy of Commentaries #132, asking present
and past communitarians : "Would you live in community again?" incidentally, a question
we ask ourselves more than once nowadays…
No, I wouldn't choose to live in community more effective in our loosely structured
again. It was an incredible experience - from setting as neighbors with shared values,
its buildup and preparation from 1976 to when we weren't under constant group
1981, and then through some 12 years of scrutiny. We could also flower as individuals.
intense togetherness as a very earnest, ide-
alistic little group committed to living the Frankly, I wouldn’t have the stamina to do it
experiment, to attempt modeling a more all again. And after so much intensity when
honest, more conscious, "clean" way of living we seemed to almost live in each other's
than we felt we were seeing in the world at heads, it was wonderful to just take a rest
large. There was both exhilaration and from all that. I realized how much I prized my
terrible pain at various times, successes and freedom, my privacy, and the solitude I could
gratifying public recognition, as well as per- indulge in when I needed it. It felt as though I
sonal and collective dark periods with false had paid my dues, done my bit to inch public
starts and stumbles. There was often an awareness along.
excruciating flashlight shone on each of our I can't exactly say what I'd do differently if I
foibles and missteps, and then the wonderful, were to do it again. As some have noted, with
close friendships and just plain fun as we all the stumbling toward creating something
labored shoulder to shoulder and knew we good and worthwhile, in the end it was really
were breaking new ground in this corner of "perfect." The joys, the pain. It was a glorious
Sheboygan County. There was personal way to learn and to point others on a path of
growth and greater self-understanding. There awareness too. But I wouldn't want to try it
was validation of what we were about, even again - not for myself anyway. Perhaps a
though at times it seemed we'd crawl model with more viability or longevity would
forward a step and then fall back two steps. be a less rigidly structured regime. Just as the
Often it was hard to see what we were Israeli kibbutzniks after awhile often opted
accomplishing, what we were achieving and out of their strictly communal situations to
stood for in the eyes of the public; we were join or create the moshavim (where their
too close to it and tended to judge ourselves families had their own homes and people
mercilessly. could hold paying jobs, but where there was
So it was quite wonderful and even amazing still a strong community cohesion), maybe a
to look back and realize that I had stuck it out similar structure could work better here.
and could feel positive about the whole Maybe the answer is some kind of cohousing
experience. I knew it had been valuable, community. But we often remark that we
important. I think most of the others in the wouldn't be the close group still living at
community felt the same. High Wind if we hadn't gone through the
"bath of fire" together. We'd be just a bunch
But when we decided to loosen the bonds we of exurbanites living in energy efficient
were holding ourselves in - the lock-step houses in the same vicinity. We shared a lot
closeness in how we functioned together, and that is a precious bond.
made decisions, assessed our interpersonal
relationship skills obsessively in regular Lisa Paulson is co-founder with her husband
meetings - it felt not only right but enabled Beldon Paulson of High Wind Community in
us to draw a huge collective sigh of relief. We Wisconsin (no longer an intentional com-
could say "we did it!" and not feel guilty munity), and the nonprofit Plymouth
about morphing into a more loosely Foundation.
supportive neighborhood of friends who Reprinted with permission from Communities
were suddenly free to pursue our own magazine, a quarterly publication about
passions and interests. It needn't mean giving intentional communities and cooperative living in
up the values we'd championed so fiercely North America. Sample US$6; subscription
about conservation and a sustainable US$20.00. store.ic.org.
lifestyle. We realized we might even become
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