Why I'm in the Network For a New Culture

For almost as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be part of a group of people who shared a similar vision of changing themselves and society and who were willing to do both the personal and the public work/play that such transformation would require. I could barely imagine how we would find each other, or how we would go about accomplishing our goals. I did know that the word "community" kept reappearing in my imagination, but in my mind the ideal form of community kept changing as I myself grew and changed. At last, into my hands came information about a community called ZEGG, and I knew that I was on the track of something very right for me. As the American Project has fermented into its own particular state of being, I at last begin to see some outlines of how we can help to create a Network for a New Culture.

The operative word at this point is, I believe, network. My old vision of community as place and physical togetherness is being, if not exactly replaced, then supplemented by a new vision of people beginning the work right where they are. I still dream of land in the country, of households of compatible individuals creating a village of like-minded people, of living in tune with nature, of sharing our everyday lives as we cohesively create new ways of harmonious living and loving. But I no longer feel quite the frustration of wondering how that huge dream will be realized, how we (whoever "we" might be!) Will make it from the separate realities we have created for ourselves into an intimately shared reality. Not that I see exactly how that will happen. But, as I get to know more and more people in the NFNC and feel the growing commitment to the ideals espoused by ZEGG (though we may interpret them in our own unique ways), my intuition tells me that we are beginning here and now to allow it to unfold.

Undoubtedly much of my own private angst is alleviated by living in an intentional household. But beyond just the three of us living under one roof, as we host visitors from the network, or interact in cyberspace, or talk on the phone, or share through the printed pages of New Culture, or attend functions like Summer Camp, my sense of participating in something much larger exists. If I might go totally woo-woo for a moment, I would phrase it simply that "we" are ready. And as we are ready to join with others in trust and transparency, our creative juices will flow and our enthusiasm will reach out and touch those other "wes" who are ready, too. We will help each other, enlarging and hopefully clarifying our visions as we, together, clear that light path through the dark woods of our decaying old culture.

The vehicles for the vision will be many and varied. Perhaps the most potent is good, old-fashioned word of mouth. That is how I first found out about ZEGG, and it is mainly how I pass on the information to others. I note the word "outreach" creeping into more and more conversations among NFNCers, and it tells me that at some level some of us at least are feeling that "we" exist concretely enough to want to bring others into the project. I see us doing this through public talks, through giving workshops and classes, through sponsoring camps and other gatherings, through computer networking, and through continuing discussion and relationship building amongst ourselves. And, yes, someday, through learning centers where we ourselves and way we live are the primary teachers.

For now, I see this happening in a decentralized fashion, with interested individuals or small groups making something happen. This brings up issues of money, responsibility, time commitment, etc. Before long, the form of a cooperative business, a circle of co-leaders willing to share responsibility, or something entirely new and in keeping with our desires to break out of old structures and utilize the natural cooperation that exists in us as a species.

But although we feel the need to form a more cohesive organization, the single most important way to enlarge the vision is to actively live it individually, now. As we--each one of us--become practicing idealists, we do our part to establish the love field that we want to encompass the entire planet. The revolution starts with ourselves. Being transparent about our own issues, trusting our inner guidance, loving ourselves without judgment, expressing our most deeply held values and creativity, being who we are with acceptance and joy this is how it begins. Finding another whom we can practice with is a marvelous gift. Finding two or three or six or twelve is almost a miracle. But then, miracles are simply nature unimpeded. And if we just get out of our own ways, I believe we will soon see miracle after miracle after miracle. That is my vision.

--Fairlight Lucia