I am still considering a return to Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, but quite honestly there’s 3 factors that are making me hesitant.
The first is that global warming is ramping up at a much faster pace than most scientists were communicating, and I worry about the future of Northeast Missouri. Some people think that I am too extreme in my views, but I’m pretty terrified by what’s going to happen to the heartland.
Second, my professional career has never been this exciting. There’s a lovely sense of place and rootedness in buildings here. Perhaps it’s all the stone and the mass timber. There are wonderful folks who are experts in their field and masters of their craft. I have found mentors and inspiring people to work alongside.
Third, roots are inevitably starting to form out here. My daughter has fallen in love with Maine and think she might want to stay there for the rest of her life. I started to finally acclimate to New England culture. I’ve even fallen in love with the landscape and climate (it helps that it’s summer right now). So I’m starting to be able to imagine myself here in a way that’s as beautiful, although certainly different, then my life back home.
New England feels resilient. I’m finding all this depth of traditional knowledge and deep pride and sense of place that really enhances this area’s resiliency.
In many ways, Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage feels somewhat like a security blanket for me. But I recognize that the longer I’m away, the more it changes. I’m a pretty different person than I was a few years ago when I moved out here. And my sense is that Dancing Rabbit’s a pretty different community than it was when I left. I recognize that if I do return to Dancing Rabbit, I need to let go of any preconveived memories of the community it used to be, and learn who it really is these days.
So I’m exploring communities and developing relationships while staying really open to the idea of living out here long-term. I’m not quite closing the door out to my home in Missouri, but I am starting to look at it from an outsider’s perspective.
I’m returning home for a week, possibly longer, in October, to apply lime wash to my house, visit friends,, and get a little window into who DR is.
We’ll see.