Community Discussions: Spending Our Time Differently

Every bullet point is the comment of each member of the group (it might be redundant some time).

What do you do to "get away from it all"? (keeping in mind the main theme post carbon)?
- riding bike in the river valley, mountains (Kananaski); boating, walking, concerts, canoe, reading.
- Private time, volunteering, travel
- Involve NGO’s
- Self-employed and do not have free time but more spontaneous activities;

Sunday, what happened to free time?
- Family day in Alberta used to be Sundays
- Farmer, walks every morning with his wife
- Time to work, conferences, sees life as a series of free time; learning as much as you can.
- Community media- work is leisure time work is ding what she loves anyway photography, writing.
- Improving community, running;
- Retired but occasionally goes back to teaching main interest is family.
- Feels working mothers should be recognized for work they are doing; Even though children are grown up now helps the next generation. Get together wit other women and share experience. Would like to go back to rural life.

Is an art gallery or theatre or concert hall just another way of going to church/temple/mosque?
- Through arts you connect with something larger
- Sports is another way at replacing spiritual for some people;
- Virtual connecting internet.
- Values of church – care, love, interdependence, would be hard to replace. Creation is a gift to everyone life is very rich.
- All these organizations are institutions church, justice in love, learning into schools. Want to be free to choose where learning come from. Foresees these institutions breaking down in the future and we need to get back to learning.
- We need to prepare the ground for the next generation.
- University’s used to be a starting place for art and revolution.
- Distance learning is becoming prevalent which also separate us.
- Travel by train – slows down pace makes travel pleasant.

What rituals do you include in your life with family and friends? (Keep in mind past carbon world)
- Special occasions – birthday, Christmas – gift exchange.
- We seem to be stuck in what society expects in our rituals –even if we do not necessary believe in it (xmas)
- A lot of the rituals are very commercial.
- Family reunions in a post carbon world will be very difficult
o We want to know about our roots and the meaning of family
o Family help us understand who we are
- History of ancestors – need or urge to trace.
- Gender – women seem to e the ones who carry on the rituals. Organize the family dinners, send out the xmas cards. Etc.
- Before the 60’s or 70’s families used to get together once weekly and get to know each other and the children got to know each other.
- Used to be more dependants on communities because travel was more difficult. So families got to know one another because they needed each other.
- Meals together with family, food is central to gatherings.
- Eating together leads to relationships – very bonding.
- Ritual of getting together to cook or can food
- Coffee is always on – family gathers a lot all live very close together. Sit in circle and visit and talk;
- Rituals around death – funeral or celebration of life are we losing the rituals of death.
- Rituals around birth –
- Traditional music, food; do people just come for the entertainment or the food. We don’t learn or talk about death in general.