What if we did it together?

I can’t escape this question. It plagues me. It seems like far too simple of an answer but what if?

I mean, what if we did it together?

What is it, you ask?

Everything.

Eating, sleeping, living, working, witnessing, breathing.

What if we did it all together?

And how much might that solve?

You see, I have this dream where we all get to be alive rather than work for a living. In this dream we have time to spend on living rather than wasting time on bullshit jobs. With all this time, we come together and build solutions.

Food is grown in every backyard, every vacant lot, on every rooftop. None of it is wasted just because no one bought it: we grow it together and share it together. We prepare it together and preserve it together and take just what we need.

Housing is available for everyone because there are enough roofs for everyone. Space to work, play, live, and eat is shared when possible and created for those who need it. Outdoor space is accessible and available for those who can use it, protected by all of us, and co-habitated with such diversity that allows us all to thrive.

Labour is shared freely and as required to help the community meet the basic needs of everyone. We don’t waste time, energy, and resources frivolously. We learn to make do: to share tools, books, and supplies that are only needed once in a while and go without when things just aren’t available because they’re not sustainably made.

Schools are available for those who want to learn at a desk, and the community is available for those who want to learn in the world. Mentors help facilitate the transfer of knowledge. Students are made up of people from every age group. Childcare isn’t divided from day to day life. Kids are there with us, accepted and encouraged to participate. Time and space is allocated for them to be involved.

I mean, what if? It’s so distant but feels so attainable. It just takes people coming together and deciding to make it happen.

What if people cooked together? What if they cleaned together? What if they repaired tools and machinery together? What if they helped carry heavy loads together? What could we all accomplish and how much time might we save?

What if community centres were actually used by the community? What if it didn’t cost money to rent spaces or use resources allocated for us? What if whole cities showed up for a potluck? How much amazing food would be available?

What if towns got together to repair each others’ houses? Cars? Refrigerators? What if we all swapped clothes instead of throwing them away? What if we had quilting bees with 500 people participating?

What if we were connected with our neighbours? How would that change the isolation that I feel deep inside? What if we had house raisings and corn shuckings and celebrated each new season together on the solstice or equinox with a giant collective meal?

What if… just what if… we all took care of each other so that we didn’t need to rely on broken systems anymore? What if we formed these beautiful resilience distributed networks where it was easy to have your needs met and also be able to give back to others? How beautiful might that be?

It’s so clear in my mind, this dream. It’s right there like I could stand up and shout it out loud and it would come to life. But I can’t make it happen because we have to do it together.