Today I was asked the question, if I could live anywhere, where would it be? I’m sure most of us have been asked this question numerous times on our lives. If money were no object, I can think of numerous places I’d love to live. Years ago, I would have immediately answered on a beach or very near the ocean. Even now, every night I sleep to the sound of ocean waves. In my minds eye I can envision a little bungalow for me and my partner. The front opens up to a little cobble stone street and there are flower pots in the windows and on the door step, trees all around for shade. The back has a patio with a view of the ocean. Ah, yes, I can still see it!

But lately, I think of my dream home not in terms of place, but in terms of community. Home isn’t just where you hang your hat, to me it has a sense of belonging. I’ve lived a lot of places, but I’ve never really felt that I belonged. I’ve been expanding what I think of as “home.” It’s a place where one feels at home on the land and with the people. It’s a shared space where you want to live with the people around you. Today there is a concept for this called Intentional Communities.

There are all sorts of them in existence today, their main hallmark is that that each have their own little society where people generally share similar social, political, spiritual, and religious beliefs. They also share resources and responsibilities with each other.   If it sounds like a commune, it can be for some. It depends how each community arranges it.

I’d like to set up a Pagan society based on the ancient Mystery schools. We’d also have our own gardens and be completely self-sufficient. I envision a place where we each have out own small private living space, but shared community spaces for meals, entertainment and special projects. It would be a place where we shared stories about our lives and families, our successes, our hardships, our sadness and our joy. We’d share stories about our gods and goddesses and about signs we saw on the earth and in the stars. We would enjoy each other’s company and no doubt also get sick of each other and need our space. We’d definitely have to have those decorative outdoor lights for night time gatherings.