weird but not crazy…

[cohousing part 3] i came across this article a couple days ago and it confirmed for me a realization i’ve come to accept: i may be a little weird, but i’m not that crazy.

i think when most people hear about the concept of intentional communities, they probably either find it “interesting” or dismiss it as a bit odd. after all, it is somewhat strange to talk about “sharing resources” and “common space” in this pervasively capitalist society based on private ownership, right? or is it?

the fact that “the seattle area is one of the top cohousing centers in the nation” doesn’t surprise me given the city’s reputation for nonconformist thinking, but what does surprise me is how few people actually consider it seriously. everyone has probably lived “in community” in one form or another at some point (though it’s often unintentional), and for many it reminds them of those college dorm days when people shared food, enjoyed common space, left front doors open, and roamed communally from place to place. but why is it that when people choose to “grow up” and “move out” that they almost always do so in such an isolated, fragmented manner?

there’s certainly some appeal to having your own place all to yourself (and sadly it is often equated with “making it” financially)- but i do think the novelty fades quickly. and again, the beauty of cohousing is that you do have your own place, but that’s not all you have. as chris and i prepare for our first child, we can definitely see the benefit of living in closer community- babysitting, anyone?

at the end of the day, i wonder if people are afraid of rejecting the dominant system of solely private home ownership in part because of how they may be perceived. but i’m also hopeful that in spite of the pressure to conform to societal norms, many people might be drawn to how beautiful and how human something like cohousing can be.

after all, if we truly are created in the image of community, then that realization ought to make us into a peculiar people. and to a culture obsessed with individualism and privacy, this should be good news.