Do the People Make the Place?

Relationship with the land is so important to me in any place that I live. I recall moving to Bali many years ago and being told by a spiritual channel how important it was that while there I learn to "Let Nature Love You."

I did learn that, and have been improving those skills ever since. And when I came here to NM I definitely had that on my mind.

Not to say I came for that reason, because really I just had a clear feeling that this was where I needed to move from CA, but had no idea why. I've been searching for a reason ever since, actually. But I knew that for whatever reason I was anywhere, a big part of the experience would be my relationship with the natural world there. (I even asked the trees in CA to put in a good word for me with the trees here, and could feel some sort of connection deepen in response.)

And I have spent a lot of time outdoors since arriving. I haven't even gone to any natural hot springs, the Rio Grande, Ski Valley, the waterfalls of el Salto, etc. yet. I've just been sitting on the acreage I live on and driving through rolling hills with mountain views each day, and that has been quite a relationship itself. I look forward to much more of that and exploration of the natural wonders here also.

But I realized recently that this may not be enough. No matter how much I love nature, perhaps I can only feel at home when I have a place within a community of PEOPLE. I don't need to see folks very often, but I think I do need to have some sort of communal tribe I feel a part of.

In the places I've lived before, that developed very, very quickly. Even in NYC, I started studying with a Buddhist lama just a month after arriving, and that (and later my co-workers) became that communal context for me to fit my life into. And that was a place with very busy people. The San Francisco Bay Area was also super busy, but for whatever reason a lot of people made some small place for me in their lives. Busy lives. Small space. But reliable, and I don't ask for much, being a hermit by nature.

The odd thing about being here has been how different it is starting on this front. I know a couple of people here from the Bay Area, but given we are all hermits and that there are only 2 of them, that's not a lot of social context being provided there.

The Questioning Mind

Do the people make the place?

Am I needing to get involved in some group activities (join a book club, start going to some religious group even though my spirituality is inner directed and I don't really care what they have to say, join a hiking group?) in order to feel truly like I've arrived here?

Do I need something more than just connection to self and land, or might this be some sort of spiritual maturation that I'm being invited into?

And if I do need more, does it need to be deliberately cultivated by becoming a joiner, even though I'm not honestly interested in any particular group activities? Is that how I must meet the individuals I will invite over for tea on the patio, which is more my idea of pleasant relating?

What's Your Experience?

Can you relate to the idea of not automatically wanting to join an "already there" community focused on some activity?

Or do you naturally gravitate toward such groupings for fun?

How do you fit yourself into a new location when you move?

Would you ever want to try the "just me and the land" approach to settling into a place?

(Photo Source: Pixabay)

Resteems always appreciated!