Asheville North Carolina – The Landing

July 11, 2016

Asheville, North Carolina. What a cultural hub this place has come to be. This area is resting on Cherokee land. The southern Appalachian Mountains are one of the oldest in the world. It has never been under ice during a ice age, and has never been flooded. This land not being affected by these natural events have creating a space rich in biodiversity.

I can feel it’s ecological presence. Something really profound is happening here in Asheville. People from around the nation are flocking to live here. There has been a cultural shift taking place amongst the humans in this area. This city has been able to become more open so to speak. More open to the arts. More open to a local economy. More open to an open mind. Most of the people that are not 2ND natives (we all know who came first) to this land are fueling this openness.

The 2ND natives of this land seem to be quite new to this whole open mind vibration in my opinion. Some of them have integrated into this mind frame, but a lot still carry that southern American popular culture with them. I’m not trying to disown southern American popular culture. I’m simply pointing out the differences that I see here.

With that being said it is my experience that this culture of the 2ND natives is one that has very unsustainable values – unsustainable in an ecological, economic sense, and a community sense. So with this wave of humans that are open to entertain ideas that question our popular culture today, we can see beautiful things began to take place.

These things can include: proper land based ethics, a more sustainable outlook on the process of obtaining goods and services, reducing one’s impact on the environment they inhabit, facilitating opportunities to develop community between their neighbors, and equal rights activism. I have witnessed these realities take place here.  It reminds me of when I see a dandelion growing between the cracks on a sidewalk. Nature will reclaim and set balance to all space. We are either against it or with it. Which side are you on?

I have found myself inhabiting one of these open bubbles. I was given the opportunity to come to this place because of a connection that the team leader at the EcoVillage training center had.  She had met this man at Ragweed, and she asked him if we could all stay at the land he calls home in Asheville.  He fulfilled her request to let us stay here for the Numundo Convergence, which was a weekend long.

This human stays at a place called The Landing. It is basically a place where you land and are able to creatively express yourself while planning your next move and/or growing roots here and developing your inner arts. The landing is an “unintentional community”, and does not Interact as a whole on a daily basis, except for their online discussion forums. They seemed to have developed their own tribes of inhabitants that have limited interaction with each other. The collective consciousness here is not ecologically based though they have some sustainable realities taking place here. Their overall footprint to this land is only a little less than the average modern American human. Even though this place has a potential to be diverse ecosystem of life, that’s it not what The Landing’s purpose is here. It’s purpose is to create a sanctuary of freedom from the outside world. It holds on its land the ability to express your inner arts without fear of judgment. That in itself is a remarkable thing.

The Landing man that invited us to live here is quite the character. This human also accepted my request to stay here until I leave Asheville. He is the product of a life born in California but raised on The Farm. Yup, he still remembers what it was like to travel in the caravan as a young child from California to eventually settle down in Tennessee to Co-create what is now known as one of the oldest intentional communities in the nation – The Farm.

The LM had presented his best self for us while staying here. He is a very confident man with a certain wittiness him. I had met him briefly at ragweed, but didn’t get to connect much. Right off the bat we were buds. I was able to flow with his wit and return with my own.

My presence here in Asheville has been a experience full of growth. Everything from cycling serving as my primary source of transportation everywhere to meeting and connecting with many conscious souls and realities. I have integrated myself into the micro-community that is The Landing, as well as the macro-community, Asheville.

I have become aware of many great people doing great things here. I look forward to evolving into my role as ambassador of Green Fire EcoMinistry, and stepping into a new phase of my life. I soon will be conducting interviews and holding space for information trade between people of purpose. I must see myself in a new light. I will be a space holder for connection to take place, and for separation to gradually disappear with grace.