I’ll just relate my own experiences here and try not to pass any judgements. I don’t want to discourage anyone here. I would just like to relate some of the pitfalls that I have experienced.
I live in a nuclear family unit now. I have lived communally in the past and also in a “neighborhood” of very like minded alternative types each with their own place, but all adjacent to each other or very nearby. This neighborhood was also bordered by very large tracts of public land and timber co. land.
I was also a traveller for many years. I moved in a loose knit network of alternative communities as well as places that were known to be open for transient people like us.
I remember being very put off by the expectations of people in communities who let us travellers know in no uncertain terms that there was work that needed to be done and if we weren’t into that then we could hit the road. Later on I started to come around to seeing their point and if I wasn’t in the mood for that then I’d just keep my visit very short or stay out on the “road”.
I’ve bought two pieces of land in my life. Both came to us through very hard work and commitment. I never had those kind of resources handed to me on a platter. I have had people express that I had certain luxuries because I had land and a home. My response is that it was a concious decision to make that commitment that could be made by anybody if it was possible for me. The same goes for the “free” life of the nomad. It requires a commitment to what that life demands.
What many of you are talking about is something that I could see far down the road when a common culture is widespread and when the customs and world views of the nomadic people are at least complimentary with those of the settled folks. Expectations have to be clear and understood both ways. So many times I have seen situations where the expectations have been unclear or where the arrangement was begun with one expectation and when that changed the awkwardness set in. Hard feelings love to grow in those situations.
My home since I was in my early 20’s has always been a place for visitors to stop by. We have often had people stay with us for extended periods. Sometimes people have stayed at our home when we were gone. We often have a steady stream of visitors in the summer.
Since I have been tanning hides for a living I have had a number of people come stay here in order to learn to work with hides. I’m not really open to that any more. What I have found is that the people often have little understanding of the concept of investing in the learning process and commitment.
I have been mentored by people who do not “teach”. If I want to learn about something, a commitment is required. I must be willing to invest in the learning process. This is similar to an apprenticeship. An apprentice might start out doing all the shit work and it might seem to be work that doesn’t even have to do with what they are apprenticing for.
This might go on till the apprentice has just about had it with that fucker that’s supposed to be teaching them but is just using them for slave labor to do all the shit they don’t want to do. This is how I have learned a lot of what I know.
I used to think this was some kind of hierarchical, patriarchal bull shit but I now see that what is going on is that the mentor is finding out how commited to the learning the apprentice is. If the apprentice says fuck this shit you asshole, then so be it. This is when the apprentice learns to pay attention, follow instructions, drop the preconcieved notions and the ego, and open up to the learning. That’s all important stuff that really gets in the way if it doesn’t happen.
My mentors find out if the apprentice is ready to learn, and if not that’s fine. Come back when you are, or not. They have no attachments to my process.
What has happened to me in the past is that I get my ego stroked by having students who learn from me so I drop what I am doing and spend my time trying to teach them everything I know. Then just about the time when the student could actually do the work on their own and really help me in return, they decide it’s time to move on to the next place. And I feel ripped off. I don’t take that on anymore. .
There are benefits to the nomadic life and there are benefits to the settled life. The problems come when people feel entitled to it all without doing what it takes. A nomadic life requires some sacrifices in comfort, possesions etc. and it rewards us with freedom from many attachments that hold us back. It opens us up to a universal flow.
A settled life requires a commitment and investment in staying in one place and doing what needs to be done in caring for that place and developing a deeper relationship It has it’s rewards as well.
Blending these two ways of being can be very tricky. It often requires an investment of time on the part of travellers and a willingness to tune into what is happening in a community. The "permanent " dwellers in the community have made that investment and consequently formed attachments to outcomes.
I’m just rambling here, jumping from one thing that pops into my head to another. Hope there’s something useful in all that.