We had thought about it almost as long as we’d been together. Creating or being a part of a community where people live simply and share whatever is needed with one another. There was never a clear plan for how or where we wanted to pursue this way of life and honestly, we both tend to be idealists, so reality is sometimes a bit of a let down. The many reasons it took us this long to move forward with this adventure may have felt like just waiting, but I’m learning that waiting is preparation. Timing is everything. Even when you can’t see the way ahead, things happen when they happen.

We drove around looking at houses we could rent or potentially lease to own just to get ourselves in this area. There was potential. I always see potential in houses (and people). We had a realtor friend of ours looking for small, cheap fixer upper houses also. It felt weird… and good. We had talked about it for so long and now we were starting to pursue it. I experienced wave after wave of uncertainty, but it also felt exciting and surreal.

My husband has a lot of connections in town. He had mentioned to one of the members of the redevelopment program in the area that we were trying to move there. It just so happened that there was a small lot that they were considering just giving to one of the neighbors. We had made it clear we weren’t just trying to build a house. We wanted to be a part of breaking the stigma and learning about the culture there. They decided to give us the land.

I’m not saying that what you want is just going to fall into your lap if you wait around long enough. I am saying that when your attempts to make your dream a reality feels like m o l a s s e s, keep trying to find the path. The way is there. It takes work. It takes courage. It takes believing that what you want is worth it. Whatever your soul jumps at the thought of doing, go after it.

Read on if you’d like to join in on the personal growth side of this journey…

I feel in my element as a supporting role.. work, relationships, wherever. So, starting this blog and painting and moving to a new community with the hope of not just building bridges, but crossing them is a STRETCH for me. I want to do this work. I believe that it is all meaningful and good. I also know that I deal with some social anxiety and self doubt and lots of fear. I want to be trustworthy in all the relationships in my life. I want our home in this diverse community to be a place where people feel safe to rest from the life many of them have had to fight for. I want this journey to be less fear and more love. Less fear more trust. It won’t all go perfectly and the idealized version of myself may need to accept that fumbling and apologizing builds more trust than guarded passivity will. Real community is worth the risk.