4 thoughts on “Slow Community Video from Zaaz Event”

  1. Hi Nancy,
    I moved to Ireland primarily because the cultural norm here is slow community – in my mindful, spirit filled moments I knew instinctively that I would have to live this before I could break the hardened edges created by my natural tendency to like speed and complexity (or is it complication?).
    Briefly, (after journaling some thoughts about the discipline that slow requires):
    1) Time: it took 2.5 years before we were invited regularly into others homes
    2) The dance of boundaries and support – love the kids knocking on our door to play with our dog – but not 10 times a day.
    3) Contribution – they don’t know me, so don’t know what I can contribute, and when I try they ignore me – SLOWLY this changes and then at a tipping point local folks come to me for what I can offer (community building and tech understanding, the ability to facilitate).
    4) A slow conversation (and when you know you are IN community) is the weather, what we did recently, the politics of town, our families, – these conversations also repeat over and over.
    5) Before I can be really part of this community, they needed to see my commitment to LIVE here – not be another “blow in”

    On that last, because Kinsale is a tourist driven community many “blow in;” some did 30 years ago and they still think of themselves that way. At parties the locals and the blow ins may separate. Where this leads me is back to what is community? Kinsale is community and it is all of the above. For some it is slow, hard to get into. Others comment to us all the time that “you became involved, you work with us.”

    The online communities are much more apparently ready to accept anyone who posts, I think this creates faster apparent acceptance but less long term quality.

    I hope in some small way that this adds to your ideas/conversation as you have added to mine through your blog – great to see you in action on the video – you are much the presenter I imagined you to be.
    Alana

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