Welcome. I’m glad you’re here.
What is the Village of Ordinary?
An original work of fiction, published one blog post at a time, The Village of Ordinary is a story and a vision–a dream for now–of what ordinary life might be like if we, the human family, lived in harmony with the Earth and with each other.
Rose, the narrator, tells her story, sharing tidbits of her daily life in journal entries she records for the village archives as part of their oral history project. Rose’s thoughtful, lively prose takes us into the heart of the village and carries us far beyond its borders, into the surrounding fields, hills and forests, up into the wintry mountains, hiking to neighboring villages, and even flying cross country to a sister community hundreds of miles away.
As she strides the golden hills, prunes trees in the orchards, prepares fragrant vats of jam in the kitchens, or sits in solitude, dashing water colors across a canvas, Rose shows us the children, women and men she meets, loves, works with–and plays with–each day. Along the way, just in telling her story, she answers questions she need rarely ask herself. Questions like this one.
How does “living in harmony” work, for Pete’s sake?
In a world where human beings live and work in harmony with one another, how do people fight? That’s right. I asked that question first. Because people do fight, right? How do the people of Ordinary handle the inevitable disagreements and misunderstandings?
Or how about this one. In a world without greed, how do the people support themselves? Who makes the big decisions? Who decides who gets what and what it’s worth? Where does food come from? Energy to run their homes? How is land divided and who owns it?
In the little snippets and musings Rose gives us, we don’t hear her asking these questions. She doesn’t have to, most of the time. But if we look, the answers are there for us.
Listen. Watch. Dream. Perhaps together, you and I can build such a world for ourselves.
What I ask of you, the reader
As a living work, ever in-process, the Village of Ordinary changes every time I sit down to tell a little more of Rose’s story. Every new missive from Rose raises more questions. I hope you’ll want to discuss them. Argue about them. Grab them like that dog with the bone and wrestle with them.
Because Ordinary is a living work, I ask you please to observe copyright law and human decency when reading, discussing and, should you do me the great honor, quoting me, or Rose. For more on that, see the Terms of Use and the Copyright Notice.
Learn more
To learn more about the story, it’s genesis, and most importantly, how you can become a part of the quiet revolution going on around the world to build a good world, a just world, and a comfortable world for all, follow the links to these pages.
- The beginning – How Ordinary originated
- A World at war
- A better way
- Learning from Ladakh
- What does a good world look like?
- Become part of the vision
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Next: The beginning |
Last updated: 3/20/20
Village of Ordinary 