joy and sorrow

Sometimes it seems like negative energy can eat up our community. I will be sitting on the porch of Rock Bottom and people will be complaining or yelling about something multiple times a day. The past couple days have been like that, and I am surprised that this time I haven't absorbed much of it, though I have seen friends absorbing it.

Sometimes I will feel overwhelmed and in need of some quiet alone time, so I will go to my room and meditate, read, or mend clothes, and that helps a lot. Then I can come back to the community and see things from a different perspective. I can see that people are expressing the pain that I was perceiving as negative energy. I saw it this way because it affects me, and it hurts.

I can see that these painful expressions come and go here at East Wind, and joy is also a common expression, along with sorrow.

At the end of the day yesterday, a few of us were sitting on the couch, and we were talking about how the past couple of days had been rough. There was no tangible reason for it. There just seems to be a flow of energies that comes in waves, and I have come to appreciate the realness of it.

I appreciate that people express here, even if they aren't using non-violent communication. Sometimes we yell at each other, but sometimes we hug and cuddle, and speak of how much we appreciate each other and the beautiful land, and the sharing and connection we have.

Although a few people expressed being upset yesterday, I think it was a good day for me, overall.

I made a batch of yogurt that came out very creamy. I think I am getting better at making yogurt.
I worked in the garden for a few hours while chatting with friends.
I thinned beets and thought about how I was sacrificing one beet's life so that the other could grow bigger.
I covered someone's dishes shift.
I picked ticks off me.
I read and socialized.
In the evening I worked on cream puffs with a friend for the upcoming holiday.
Today I will be making hummus for the holiday too. There are going to be tons of snacks.

We have a holiday every month, which is a great reason for celebration and joy.

I wonder if I am getting better at accepting myself and others how they are.

Lovin' you, East Wind.