In Search of Others

One of the goals of my quest is to try to create and foster community with others. I believe we each harbor a desire to connect with others, to feel heard and to feel important. Community, it seems, is a misunderstood subject in our society. We give the illusion of being connected constantly. Cell phones, facebooks, internet, reality tv shows; images and sounds from others bombard us constantly. Yet, there is no real interaction there. Families spend dinner time watching t.v. together, and that's the lucky ones who eat together at all. We won't get off our cell phones long enough to make eye contact when paying for gas. We believe twittering is the same as communicating. And through all of this I believe, we feel very alone.

So, one of my goals is to try to have real interactions with real people. Even though, sometimes, this is hard. It feels risky to smile at a stranger and say "hi" and it feels awkward to go to a meeting with people whom I've never met before and share myself. A few weeks ago, I joined Meetup. It's this online service that lets anyone form a group and it helps you organize that group with announcements and such. After joining the meetup, you pick out things you are interested in and it tells you if there are groups in your area that fit your interests. This week, I went to a women's study group. Meetup makes this part easy for anyone interested, they give you email reminders and suggest groups that might interest you. Then you get to do the brave part. You get to go to the group and meet other cool people who share your interests.

About a month ago, I received an email that let me know what book the group was reading for this month's women's studies meeting. It was called The Bigger the Better the Tighter the Sweater, edited by Samantha Schoech and Lisa Taggart. I really enjoyed this book. It's a collection of essays written by women sharing their personal experiences about being a woman. There were several times during this book that I laughed out loud - in public. The humor, though, was just a vehicle to deliver very powerful and insightful messages about challenges growing up female. Everything from breast shape and bikini waxes to aging and body shape were fair game for this powerful group of women writer's. As Sunday approached, I couldn't wait to get together and discuss these issues with other women. And I was not disappointed. Although our group was fairly small, 9 in all, our demographics was diverse along with our opinions. A lively dialogue ensued and I had an excellent time. I've all ready requested the book for next months meetup and I've signed up to attend the next vegetarian/vegan meetup. Meeting new people and great food - count me in.

I'd love to hear from others about how they are trying to connect with other people and form community. Join me - literally if you can, figuratively if you will and find ways to foster community in your neighborhoods.

Using Your Public Library

Using Your Public Library

Okay, you have 1000 interests. You want to be as self sufficient as possible. You have a limited budget. Sound familiar? It does to me. That is why I'm about to give you the most sage advice that I ever will on this blog. Use your local public library. Be very nice to your friendly librarians and find out all the incredible resources that library has to offer. You may be very surprised to find out what you can find out there. It is probably the most effective budgeting device known to us Americans.

First, find your local library. In case you are a little rusty about who is near you, this link will help you out. http://www.publiclibraries.com/ Now you know what library to go to, let's talk about some things you can find there.

Libraries are working very hard to be relevant in this digital and some say post-written culture. So, you will find most libraries will have internet based computers for you to use. If you are on a tight budget this means you could read this blog from your local library, without needing that computer at home. On this computer, they will also have access to a wealth of information via databases. My local library has a couple hundred databases that it pays for and I get to have access to them all for free (well, let's just say i've prepaid.) On these databases, you can learn foreign languages, search encyclopedias, hunt for articles in all the large newspapers, search genealogy data, get homework help and I could go on and on. If your library is like mine, you can access most all of these databases in your pjs with a hot chocolate in front of you from home. Take a few minutes and find out what databases your library has access to and use this to add to your own knowledge database.

Your library will also have music cds, dvds (often for free or a very low price), audio books, magazine subscriptions and BOOKS. Please, don't forget the books. This is where you will find a lot of information about becoming self sufficient. Check these books out, peruse them. If you fall in love with them and just need to keep checking them out - then buy them. Have your local library staff show you how to search for books. Most libraries are pooling resources and often have reciprical lending agreements with other libraries. What this means for you is that almost any book you want your library can get for you, even if it is not on their shelves. At my library, they do this through WorldCat. There is a worldcat search feature on their homepage. I look for the book I want and request it through an interlibrary loan. This book may come all the way across the country and be waiting for me - little ole' me at my library's front desk. Then I check it out and bring it home. This is a super cool feature of lots of libraries that you should not underestimate. Your local library may not have the new cutting edge books on permaculture, vegan cooking, hydroponic gardening or running your car on veggie oil, but other libraries do. And you can still have access to them.

It is so important that we learn to share resources, information and tools. Libraries are a terrific way to do that. Check your local library out and with a little sweet talking with those that work there, you'll be using that library like the well-oiled machine that it is.

Stay tuned, as this blog progresses I'll be sharing with you some of my favorite books. Be sure to leave comments that tell me your favorite ways to use your local library and what your favorite books are.