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“Joyous!” was how longtime cyclist and member Stu P. described the March 20 biking and social event.  Arlete Hodel of SABA led Washington Commoners on their 2nd bike event of the year, this time a city tour of West Sacramento. The large group included people from New Hampshire, Oakland, Walnut Creek, Cloverdale and Modesto, as well as the locals from Sacramento and Yolo counties. It also included 4 current explorers and one former explorer who decided to renew her Explorer status after the event. Two co-housing enthusiasts (future Explorers?) also joined the group at the Treehouse Cafe for food, drink and socializing after the ride. The tour visited the closest of the Three Sisters' urban farms where peas, chard, lettuce and carrots were thriving and the weeds were non-existent! An additional highlight was bicycling on the Clarksburg Branch Line Trail. When we returned to the Treehouse Cafe everyone was treated to more fruits of the Central Valley; member Becky shared her labor of love; Kumquat marmalade. Many of the newer members and explorers were meeting the long-term members in person for the first time, and even the long-timers did not recognize the faces they had been seeing on Zoom for the past year behind their masks! It was a fun event, nurturing on all levels this unique gathering of individuals that wants to know their neighbors and build community together.
“Arlete, thank you so much for sharing your biking expertise and wisdom with our group! Even before we mounted our bikes, she performed a safety check. She brought 2 sweepers, always thinking of our safety. And she provided safety tips at the onset and along the way. She led us on a delightful tour, we had a great time, perfect weather and a truly perfect day!” -Pam
First stop on the tour was at the closest of the Three Sisters urban farms where peas, chard, lettuce, and carrots were thriving and the weeds were non-existent  Scott and Lisa in front of pea rows “It was a great experience to learn about and ride the quiet and beautiful bike paths in West Sacramento. Knowing I can ride my bike to nature, recreation, and shopping made me feel hopeful about being less dependent on my car.” -Lisa
 Almost home with the Tower Bridge in Background, the day was as perfect as the photo “It felt so good to be riding a bike again. I’m looking forward to lots of bicycling adventures with my new Washington Commons friends.” -Anne G
"One of the many joys of bike riding is all the aromas.... jasmine, newly mown grass, food cooking, fabric softener from someone's dryer, then there's all the different sounds!” -Jae “It was heartwarming to finally be able to see members of my new community in person, many for the first time. And at a cafe right next to our site! Let's do it again soon!” -Catherine
When we returned to the Treehouse Cafe everyone was treated to more fruits of the Central Valley; member Becky shared her labor of love, Kumquat marmalade.
“I enjoy making kumquat marmalade and am so pleased that I have appreciative folks to make it for.” -Becky
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 Karen Gimnig, Imago Facilitator and co-author of ’TheCooperative Culture Handbook’, led a large workshop of Washington Commons’ members and Explorers interested in building community and deepening our connection to one another. Karen asked each of us to write 10 responses to the prompt, “Our vision is realized, we have moved into our new homes, and we have fabulous relationships. I can tell because I see, hear, or feel…”. She created the image above with our responses.
Karen asked, “What gets in the way of attaining our vision”?She showed us how our conditioned survival strategies on a biological as well as a social level kick in when we feel our sense of belonging threatened. These strategies put us in our competitive habits where we inflict rules, employ power, and judge right and wrong. Such strategies have kept us alive but are counter productive to communication or creating connection. Even when we are not in fight or flight response, Karen told us, “only17% of what gets said gets listened to”. Then Karen taught us the simple but powerful technique of‘Mirroring’ or ‘Active Listening’ which to do at all we had to get out of our competitive habit of preparing our rebuttal. We practiced using this tool in breakout rooms with one other person for 2different 20-minute sessions. This single tool enabled us to begin to hear each other in ways that brought people back from the breakout rooms bubbling with cheerful chatter at what they had learned, savoring the connection they had made with their future neighbor, and childlike joy that, “my partner really got me”. |
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