Waaaaay back in April, the first ever Tiny House Conference was held in Portland, Oregon. Though I didn’t attend all the sessions, I was present for the premier of Small is Beautiful (a gorgeous film I’ve written about before – see below). Attending the screening, I was overwhelmed by how many people were there, how open everyone seemed to considering ways the movement can grow in responsibility and to more creatively engage with the ideals that gave rise to the movement way back when (the “when” is super debatable, see this – page 298).
One lesson reinforced by the conference was – as cliche as it may sound – the greater the gifts, the greater the responsibility. Tiny house villages for the homeless are popping up all over; tiny house dwellers are finding more creative and ecologically responsible ways to build and live in community; people are constructing with more reclaimed/upcycled/repurposed materials; the general awareness of the movement is growing; people inside the movement are asking how they can do it better.
I am reminded. When we experience the blessings of being a part of a group, a relationship, a place, we must honor that being-ness with not just our presentness, or whole self, but with questions of how to better our whole self – how to grow as giving back. To engage, we must do more than show up; we must be willing to listen, learn, and loosen the grip on “comfort” – a guise for excess ego that, quite believably, parades as necessary.
aatinyhouse 