Having returned to Stanhope and the third cottage of the row of seven to have provided a peaceful haven over the past five years, projects pop up and patiently await ... the one that tempted the return, a retreat centre on the main street, perhaps parallel now with the Graceful Ageing Centre at the still empty residential home on the road out of town updale ... long imagined and now maybe timely ... other properties suitable locally ... the need clear, as temporary places for folks discharged from hospitals and supported living as a lifestyle choice ...
Patience being the third of the treasures of Tao and the toughest for your blogger ... Compassion and Simplicity come naturally now ... all appears to be unfolding in perfect timing and mutuality is the indicator and guide ... in the new world coming, beyond greed, envy and competition, projects are mutually beneficial ... Wheels to Meals being an example as well as a thread of the next project with the elders of the Dale ...
Meanwhile, another role, developed this past year, house-sitter, elicits an invitation from a very old friend from leftist times in London ... now living in west Wales and offering a three month stay while he is away touring Europe ... gratefully declined, since the role is secondary and aligned with other projects now ... which may themselves provide the simple shelter required ...
Shelter at its simplest is re-imagined in the new world coming ... away from houses as investments and buy to let ... away from excessive space to be filled with stuff ... towards experimental forms, like co-housing ... inter-generational models embracing mutual benefits ... ethical time-shares ... and shelter as a basic human right ...
Ironically, resources to support these models arrive via traditional house builders and excessive land values in the south ... maybe something that will change if London sheds its financial services in the wake of the retreat from European unity ...
The surreal politics is harder to ignore now ... and tricky to maintain perspective ... to discern when the ludicrous is best ignored and when it is necessary to act ... it is clear enough, however, that where our attention goes, energy flows and our precious energy is better focused on building the new world we want than the old, decaying one we don't ...
From Brockwood Park arrive invitations to events this year ... always a joy ... just have to find a cat-sitter ... the house can take care of itself ...
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