It's official: I'm a Gardener!

Long and busy day today here at the Holy Road House. But every day seems to be this way - a very good thing indeed. Busy hands, busy minds, all that. But the things we're up to!

Lizzie and Tony did a brief but wild dance in the basement, sorting and clearing, making space for the soon to emerge lounge/bedroom/rehearsal and performance space. Much more to do, but a good start. I managed to resolve a couple of issues preventing me from taking care of online responsibilities. I can now send e-mail and upload files to my web server. Web development work has been waiting this last week, and will have to wait a bit longer while chores get done here at the house. But at least I can now take care of emergency updates to the many web sites I maintain.

The most amazing thing though, was the first meeting we held tonight with the co-op's core contributors. The mission: to define what needs to be done to shape the whole amazing adventure into something meaningful to everyone involved, and sustainable. We began by thinking of ourselves as gardeners and of the co-op, the Holy Road Tours and Holy Road House, as a garden which needs to be designed and planted and tended to perfection.

I was able to bring some of my experiences in businesses and on boards of directors to the session as a facilitator. That, of course, quickly meant that I would volunteer to develop the first draft of our operations manual, or business plan, or whatever you might want to call it. Happily, I might add, because I feel it's something I can do and want to contribute. And contributing is what it's all about for me here. It is the most meaningful and rightous work I can imagine at this stage of my life.

So the core contributors, those of us who have found the Holy Road a source of powerful inspiration and meaning in our lives, those of us who dedicate ourselves to making this magic happen, we are now called the Gardener Members of the Holy Road House coop.

The garden will grow itself, with our careful attention and input and maintenance. The magic will happen as it's meant to happen. It's no more complicated than remembering that it happened and how it happened. But it will be gratifying if I turn out to have a green thumb.