Mother Nature gifted us a beautiful sunset as four of us arrived at this precious valley. It is fair to say that throughout our time here she has been patient and kind as well as strong and clear. Sometimes she soaks in our naive excitement for all things new to us and at other times she reminds us of her enormous power and yet also vulnerable side. There is an immediate and inevitable magical connection in this paradox.

 

Every day we feel grateful for the variety of gifts presented to us: the unique varieties of silence; the eye-catching explosion of colours in the early morning and late night sky; the magnificent abundance of plants, trees, bushes and flowers; the sounds and sights of close neighbours including birds, wild boars and goats, foxes, small reptiles, wasps, blue bees or beautiful insects; the vast universe above us with shooting stars or bright moons dressed up as night time suns. Somehow it feels as if the weather longs to provide the soundtrack to this beautiful choreography and we are in awe experiencing it all: from ferocious winds, frosty mornings, torrential rains and loud thundering to mostly sunny, calm, pleasant forever-summer-feeling days. All of these elements make this valley precisely so enchanting.

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K’Ananda has only just taken its first steps and yet it feels like a long way from where we all began. We have made tremendous progress with community projects involving land, buildings, volunteers, and outreach work. We took advantage of our existing personal skills and professional talents but also developed new knowledge and techniques either with external support or to our delight just naturally. Looking back, we achieved awesome results, but it's true we sometimes raced against ourselves too fast.

 

However, in overcoming challenges is where we can truly recognise huge personal and collective growth. The rate, intensity and depth of transformation we all experienced would have simply not been possible if we had remained immersed in our previous lifestyles and routines. We have discovered that in community, preconceptions, expectations, and safety comforts are no longer valid hiding places. At times it was not pretty, comfortable or fun. Our minds may have screamed to run away, but our hearts whispered ever so softly "stay". We realised the operating currency here is trust, cooperation and freedom, hence we all had to make space by partly discarding our cultural and social baggage which was no longer suitable for this environment. As a result, we have become gentler to ourselves, creative in our vision, increasingly grounded in our own new home and ultimately more in harmony with one another.

 

If the destination is to love without fear we would need a solid anchor for the journey ahead. At some point we all began to embrace a familiar yet powerful code of conduct rooted in ancient Toltec wisdom:

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Be Impeccable with your word

Don't take anything personally

Don't make assumptions

Always do your best

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Life at K’Ananda dares us to be truthful, transparent, and direct in our thoughts, words and deeds which inevitably reveals hidden traumas, generates triggers and resurfaces unresolved patterns. It is not what we are used to experiencing when we come form a largely competitive, individualistic and egocentric society. However, this approach begins to pave the way for long-term community building and allows the unique purpose of each of our souls to emerge in confidence that it will be accepted, increasingly respected, and eventually admired. This journey is not for the faint-hearted but it is immensely beautiful. 

 

Anger and Joy may seem like concepts a long way off each other, but we have begun to create shortcuts and bridges at K’Ananda between both. For example, learning to hold space, reducing projections on one another, listening more and judging less; not running away from conflict, displaying vulnerability; taking time to reflect, healing at our own pace; valuing our differences rather than pretending they are reasons for separation; limiting our expectations; suppressing less and celebrating more; addressing miscommunication; reconnecting with nature; meditating and exercising; using the arts to transmute all sort of feelings; appreciating the little gestures that contribute to the bigger goals…  In essence, the ups and downs are what has made our first twelve months so powerful, transformative and memorable. 

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Many of our friends, families, neighbours, visitors and volunteers have experienced the intense energy that moves in this valley and indeed features heavily in our life in community. For some there is a smooth resonance with their heart, for others a niggling curiosity and in some cases real discomfort to varying degrees. In all cases we encourage everyone to observe themselves and allow time to experience growth. In truth, all outcomes are perfect for each individual and produce mutual enrichment. We are blessed to count ALL that have come to share time with us as long-term connections and we are happy to continue walking alongside those wishing to explore more together.

 

We wondered for months what our two big S letters could mean at the entrance into our beautiful land. Then we slowly realised it symbolises the inner journey from darkness to light. Since then, Finca “SombraSol” has become our playground, where we can safely experience duality and notice how anything comes to pass and all is absolutely needed for unity. Who will cross the threshold in the next twelve months? We look forward to your knock on our door so we can enrich our stories together.