Songaia – an unfolding dream is a compilation of stories and vignettes that capture experiences of life in the co-housing community, Songaia. My goal in writing this book is to recount participants’ real-life experiences and help the reader understand the transition from individual life to life-in-community, focusing on events that helped Songaians themselves understand what life in community is about.
I’ve learned from experience that what people expect community to be like will always be quite different than what they actually find. As the stories and interviews came in, I heard plenty of abstract reasoning, but I was not looking for what people think community is about; instead I wanted personal stories of how they actually experienced community here at Songaia.
This is not a book on how to build community. While there is material here that will inform that question, this is a story about a community and its journey — how it came to be and what it’s like to live in that community and take part in our journey.
My role in writing this community autobiography has not been to tell my experiences; instead I have taken authentic experiences of others and linked them together with narrative. Aside from the role of narrator, my other contributions have been editorial. I have put rambling conversations into story form, condensed long stories to short ones, and discarded irrelevant trains of thought (even though some were fascinating).
One thing that shows up in these stories is how each of us brings our own passions, our own inner yearnings to a community setting. When we intertwine our lives by living together, we’re given an opportunity to channel our passions in a way that benefits the whole community
At a recent talent show at Songaia, the MC began by asking us to give each person attention and to acknowledge their contribution, in whatever form it comes. This provided a setting where false expectations were not held up, and it set the stage for us to simply appreciate whatever everyone contributed. The kids felt comfortable stumbling, and stopping, and starting again. No one was embarrassed.
Here is one of the stories that capture this experience:
The Annual Songaia “Talent Optional” Show has always been a well-attended event with most of the community choosing to perform in one capacity or another. No one needs to audition and people perform alone or in groups. We’ve had skits, musical performances, dramatic readings, dances, and more. Each year I am amazed at the talent that our community possesses. However, one of the things that I like most about the show is that you don’t actually have to have talent to perform. Anyone who makes the effort will receive an enthusiastic response from a forgiving audience. This has lead to children being unafraid to attempt instrumental pieces, even if they are still beginning students. Teens have paired with adults to perform interpretative dances. Adults have participated in numerous silly skits, including one particularly memorable one about a dead parrot.
One of my favorite performances happened during one of the first shows. Ian, encouraged by his parents was perhaps four years old when he rocked out on a toy electric guitar. The performance itself was exactly what you’d expect, a cute little kid randomly strumming and pushing buttons on a toy guitar. It was the community response that I found particularly heartwarming. As Ian played, the audience watched in rapt attention. When he was done, he was greeted with thunderous applause. Where else can a four year old be a rock star, if only for a few minutes? Rachel Lynette
As you encounter these stories from my family-in-community, from friends and neighbors I love, I ask the reader for the same spirit of openness. To me, that’s the power of community — respecting and accepting people as they are. And everyone’s a winner.
Future entries on this blog site will preview excerpts from the book as it continues to unfold.
