There is a magnetized sign that sticks to surfaces in my kitchen, it says, “Kindness is My Religion”. It gives me joy to see it. I tell my daughters that joy is the most revolutionary act possible if the heart remains open to the suffering out there, without denial. I don’t know if my daughters entirely get it yet, but I observe they’re taking it in. It’s a practice, living intentionally with kindness and joy.
Breitenbush Hot Springs was envisioned as an intentional community at our beginnings in the late 1970s. Kindness and joy were assumed to be at the heart of the community co-op, even during the inevitable disagreements over personalities, principles or practices. You can find kindness and joy embedded in our Credo, written in 1978. 35 years later, these qualities have found expression in a covert sort of way in the Breitenbush Facilities Council Charter, adopted in 2013, wherein the final principle is “Celebrate Success”.
To celebrate success and live with kindness and joy — this is not a conventional approach to conducting business in a cynical world. But I’d say we’re doing alright so far. [Read more…]