Phase 2

Greetings and Salutations!

From a series of conversations over the past few weeks, it has become clear that we need to rethink our current plan as a crew.  So much growth, and such a wide variety of experiences over the last six months has been intense!  We find ourselves confronting needs that often get overlooked in our lifestyle...certain environments, personal space, individual goals relating experiences or skills we wish to have.  And we also recognize that such extreme togetherness inevitably needs balance...space will keep our relationships and selves healthy.  

Thus, it seems we are closing the first chapter of the Loki adventure, and beginning the next. 

We are pausing the veggie conversion until we secure more stable funding, for one.  That will take a while, but we do not want to continue the use of diesel fuel in the meanwhile.  It is looking like the bus will remain stationary in the interim...sorting out those details currently.

Kaley is seeking an education in herbalism, off on her own adventure already. 

Jeff is visiting friends and family in Philly right now, taking a personal vacation of sorts, playing music.  I hear he will likely stay for the Philadelphia Folk Festival in August.

Jason is planning on returning to Philly for August for the Folk Fest as well.  He and Max have been having conversations around the idea of focusing on music for a while, maybe arranging a small tour in the next few months?  Max has been writing a lot of new songs, and learning them, and Jay has been writing a lot of poetry that seems headed for songville.  (For the record, I would totally attend a Max and Jason show.)

Rabbit needs wilderness, so she will be leaving Asheville soon to decide how she wants to spend her time elsewhere.  I saw her browsing agricultural internships online yesterday.

Max and I plan to stay in Asheville at least until we decide what to do with Loki in the upcoming months.  I have a feeling she would be a great outdoor clubhouse for someone with property or a farm.  She just needs to be started up 2 to 4 times a month.  Not too worried about securing something for our bus...we have a bit of time.  We have been warmly welcomed to continue to participate in The Landing community, which feels like a good springboard from which to bounce to the next adventure. 

I am a little torn about what form my own adventure will take, though I have zeroed in on a lot of needs and wants I can address.  I need a personal space...haven't had my own room since May of 2011!  And of course I need to continue my studio practice, which has been healthily and steadily growing, taking up more of my time, in the past two months.  I am open to setting up a tour of existing communes and collectives, so I can pursue the social researcht hat has been my primary interest on the trip. And I am very interested in seeing Washington State.

Through all of these recent shifts in the adventure, a few important realizations have emerged.

We are each others family, and still share the same dream, of putting all these experiences and explorations into practice, in our Someday Space.  Have we talked on this blog about The Someday Space?  It is the idea that fuels this adventure, even when it begins to feel TOO difficult.  The Someday Space is where we want to settle, to grow food, to play music, and to support collaboration in all areas of our lives.  It is a venue for creativity and performance, and has a rich relationship with a nearby town or city.  It is not isolated.  It is a place to educate and be educated in any skill or method or practice that a resident or guest wishes to explore.  It will probably include a collectively run restaurant, dogs, zip lines, outdoor art installations, several dream houses, trails, slack lines, at least one bus, goats, a kale patch, and lots of bright colors.  We learn more about The Someday Space every day, with each experience.  And The Someday Space is what we on the Loki Crew are looking for in our travels.  We are looking for it in the people we meet, the land we tour, and the things we learn to make or do.  The past six months has been about looking for the Someday Space in learning how we best function as a family, what togetherness means (and doesn't mean), what is necessary for a conscious, respectful community to function.
 
So, this idea of a phase 2 makes perfect sense.  Six of us, with the Someday Space in mind, diversifying our experiences and skills, enriching the collective dream.  Balancing our relationships with adequate space.  Strengthening our relationships by nurturing ourselves in the ways we individually need to.   Widening our perspectives.  Spreading out our tendrils and scoping out the country in six places at once.

I hope you keep following our blog!  It's likely to become much more interesting, if anything, in the next few months, as we report back from our variety of experiences.  Stay in touch!

Love,
Jackie