A tribo

So... What is the one thing most of us are sorely missing?

In a word: tribe.

While I am always the first and last person to say that the
problems we face are best solved from the inside out, I keep
bumping into an undeniable fact: Our biggest problems are
made bigger (if not caused) by the social structures and norms
that arise from our culture of alienation.

We are "social animals" living in artificial environments that
are antisocial by design. From housing to commerce to family
structures to legal systems, too much of modern life reflects the
values of separation, competition, suspicion, and "every man for
himself" instead of connection, creativity, trust, and partnership.

We've come to accept this as normal. It's "just the way things are."
And most of us are able to adapt well enough and make the best
of it... That is, until we have children!

Children come into the world biologically pre-programmed with
a lot of needs that were easily met in the social environment to
which our species adapted -- the tribe. But children's needs (and
thus parents' needs, too) are extremely difficult to meet in a
society where isolated nuclear families are expected to substitute
for the village it takes to raise a child.

Nice try... but one or two parents do not a village make.

Now imagine a community where you not only know your
neighbors, but you know them intimately and you feel safe
being completely authentic with them. Where you never feel
the drain of being "social" because the social you and the real
you are one and the same. Where everyone feels relaxed about
giving and receiving support -- including parenting support --
which flows and balances organically without keeping score.
Where the desperate need for "time to myself" disappears as
evolved social structures eliminate the need for self-sacrifice.

(...)

Feel free to forward this message to your friends!
(Please include this paragraph and everything above.)
Copyright (c) 2010 by Scott Noelle
_____________________________________________________

"Inspiration & Coaching for Progressive Parents"
http://www.ScottNoelle.com
http://www.EnjoyParenting.com

PO Box 19901
Portland, OR 97280
USA

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