Christina (center) participating in an activity at the facilitation training

  

Since spring, I have looked forward to wintertime, when I hoped to have hours every day to lounge around reading books, knitting, and chatting by the fire. Well, we have had a fire going most days at our house and I have read some great books recently, but I still haven’t learned to knit. And I haven’t felt my days are especially leisurely yet . . . there has just been so much fun stuff going on I can’t resist! Christina here, writing about a week at Dancing Rabbit that has felt as busy as it ever does around here.

The first time this week when I was torn between two activities that I really wanted to attend was on Tuesday. There was a meeting of the new “Open Co Group”—a group that has been getting together for deep emotional work, and at the same time, there was a “Process Party” in the Milkweed Mercantile with the theme of encouraging more participation in the village. I decided to attend the Process Party, which was a fascinating discussion about how things work around here and how we might make them work better for everyone. It seemed like we were just scratching the surface on some big questions—and I look forward to more winter conversations on the topic.

That night after potluck at Sandhill, a neighboring intentional community, there was a dance party for all ages. This is my favorite kind of dance party: good music, a fun hangout with friends, time with my family, and I am still in bed by 9:30 so that I can get up in time for yoga and meditation in the morning.

Perhaps inspired by the Sandhill party, my husband, Javier, decided to host a kids’ dance party in Casa later in the week. I ducked out of this one just as the kids were setting up the obstacle course and blasting their chosen music. It was a little overwhelming for me, but they ended up tired, sweaty, and ready for dinner (Javier included).

This weekend also happened to be the third in a series of monthly facilitation trainings led by Alyson of Red Earth Farms. For four hours on Friday and Saturday afternoons, a group of us meet to learn how to facilitate consensus-style meetings. I have found since I moved to Dancing Rabbit, there is never a lack of ways to push myself, learn new things, and get out of my comfort zone, and this weekend training was no exception. How could I pass up the chance to learn from someone who is, in my opinion, one of the best facilitation trainers in the country?!

Friday night is our usual community dinner, when we bring our own food but eat together in the Common House. This week, dinner was followed by a fun twist. Our friends from Sandhill came over to host a spelling bee fundraiser at DR. They are raising funds for their upcoming, annual trip to support Navajo elders in resisting forced relocation at Black Mesa. With teams competing for prizes (which were mostly auctioned off to raise more money) and brownies for everyone, it was a crazy, late, night of community connection all for a good cause.

It hasn’t been all dance parties and spelling bees this week. I’ve returned to regular morning meditation recently. Meeting in the living room of Skyhouse at 7:30 a.m. to sit in silence with others might not sound like a lot of fun, but I look forward to it every day. As someone who does not take naturally to meditation, sitting with others feels easier somehow.  

It’s not always easy to decide what I want to do with my time—turning down a dance party or a fundraiser or a great opportunity to learn something new is just too hard! And despite all this busyness, there really is a different pace to life around here compared to my previous life. I don’t have to get in a car and drive everywhere. Walking from one event to another, washing dishes by hand, moving the goats to a new pasture, taking the time to wait for my daughter to figure out a math problem on her own; there are so many opportunities for me to slow down and rest or just take my time. I appreciate the many events that happen around here, and I love that I can do so much in a week, but I am also grateful for the precious time I find to just sit and enjoy the fire.

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