Making way for community engagement in an ownership society

I hate the phrase, “we live in a society,” but truly, most of us reading this blog live in a society that encourages ownership and discourages community engagement. We are told that ownership is a sign of success, and typically we compete with each other to see who is the most successful - who has the most stuff.  But those of us who can’t afford to own everything we want are actually blessed with a tremendous opportunity to become more engaged in our own communities.

My approach to life is to work hard at achievements that are important to me and to realize goals and dreams that are close to my heart.  But at a certain point, growing up means realizing that you can’t have everything that you want - at least not, as Gail Vaz-Oxlade says, at the same time.  And at that point, life becomes about learning how to be happy with exactly what you have.

A vibrant community offers opportunities to find happiness without owning everything you want. If you can’t afford a pet, you can volunteer at an animal shelter or offer to walk dogs or take care of the animals that belong to your friends, colleagues and nieghbours. If you can’t afford to buy new books, dvds, cds, the public library has an abundance to share. If you can’t afford to own a swimming pool, the YMCA and community recreation centres offers access to swimming pools for next to nothing. If you can’t afford to own your own car, then car shares are an easy way to gain temporary access to wheels.  If you can’t afford a house but long for a vegetable garden, you can pay as little as $30 a season for access to a huge vegetable plot at a nearby organic farm (Ignatius farm in Guelph offers this).  If, similarly, you wish for a flower garden, the Guelph Arboretum offers a space where you can sit quietly and enjoy flowers, birds and butterflies at no cost.  Parks, of course, also offer many BBQ areas and places for napping under trees or in the sun - easy and free substitutes for a patio, backyard lawn or cottage.  Most people would assume that you have to sacrifice privacy, but in my experience, these spaces are underused.

There are so many opportunities, when living in a community, to find what you need, no matter how much money you’ve got. The added bonus, though, is that when you become involved in the sharing of land and objects, you begin to feel a part of a community. You build relationships with other people. At Ignatius farm, for instance, they offer support to their gardeners and have pot-lucks and social events. The library has many free events happening, including movie showings, book clubs and craft workshops. You meet other people in your community and you support those who are working hard to bring people together.

Sharing, borrowing and renting are underrated. There is an unwritten assumption that your stuff has value, that what you own can be considered an investment. The truth is that most things we own are environmental and economic liabilities, not assets, and they add less to our lives than we  have imagined.

But regardless if we have money or we don’t, at a certain point we need to find ways of making ourselves happy in the moment. And if you don’t have everything you want, there are always ways to compromise, and to find satisfaction in the art of community engagement.

Update: If you want to read more on this subject, check out “A Transumer Manifesto” on Shareable, an interesting post discussing some similar concepts. I just discovered this thanks to World Changing Canada .