I have found myself wandering around Capitol Hill, more and more these days, mulling over the idea of what it might be like to be part of a community up there similar to what I have been seeing pop up all over Brooklyn…artists, entrepreneurs, students all working towards the common good of the city.

“The tragedy is that “doing life together” in America is a program now and doesn’t often happen organically. Most people live 20 minutes or more from each other, drive 45 minutes to work and live such segmented lives that community has become largely an emotional necessity, not an economic one. If Christians didn’t get together and “do life together,” they’d rarely see each other. What used to happen in the course of living—running into neighbors at the grocery store or passing them while walking to the theater—is now a program that happens on a schedule. When did this deconstruction of community begin?  …

Suburban lifestyles often shelter people from human interaction. Suburban dwellers start the day in a car alone and then conduct business with a relatively small group of coworkers and clients, many of whom live so far away it’s difficult to carry on a meaningful personal relationship with them. After work, they return home the same sheltered way they came. As soon as they get in the house, maybe they flip on the TV. When “doing life together” is a program, it’s too exhausting to put on the show every night.’ - source: relevant magazine

image source: srw1961/ the biltmore apartments in seattle

I am so excited about this new project by Josh Garrels. I have had the privilege to meet Josh Garrels and work with him on an event before, he is just one of the most humble and amazing artists. I know this project is going to inspire me with ideas & dreams of no longer seeing impossibility rather the challenge of what if…

Josh Garrels: The Sea In Between - Trailer

“WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE EVER-NARROWING GAP BETWEEN ARTIST AND AUDIENCE DISAPPEARS?

In the documentary performance film “The Sea in Between,” Portland-based songwriter Josh Garrels and NYC arts collective Mason Jar Music travel to remote Mayne Island, B.C. to build music from the ground up,on a trip made possible by one inspired family of fans.”

ps- they are asking peeps to donate $5 to help towards the completion of the film.. and you get two downloads for your donation. 

pss- if you haven’t heard his music before you can download his complete album for free here.

“I’m currently in the Loire Valley, living and working in a chateau with a hilarious/amazing group of people; artists, chefs, winemakers, Frenchies, Austrailians, Charlestonians. Basically, I never want to leave.

I put this little video together about our late night dinners filled with incredible food & wine, incessant giggling, and lots of crazy cat talk. ” - Everyday Musings

There is just something so special about community - meals around the table, enjoying beauty together, soaking up every bit of this amazing life. We should do it more.

I am so excited about Kinfolk Magazine. This video provides an authentic glimpse of something many of us have a great longing for. Community. The beauty and feeling are so perfectly captured. What a treat that the video was created by some of my favorite bloggers andrew + carissa (If you haven’t read the story of the adoption process they are going through, check it out. who says because we are young that we cannot do things of infinite value?)

let the small gatherings begin. or continue.

the story behind APOLIS

“APOLIS is on the forefront of an era of new philanthropy by integrating sustainable development into their supply chain and bringing a whole new meaning to corporate social responsibility.” - Ben Thomson, Invisible Children

FILM: “COMMON THREAD” BY LONELYLEAP FILM