Our previous community meeting was at the start of December, I think we should aim to have the next one before the month is out as lots has been happening. (Does anyone know how to use Slido to get a group to find a convenient time? I tried and failed :p)

I am feeling pressure to deal with quite a few things which are coming up and think we should discuss as a group what we feel is important and how we want to schedule those conversations. As I've indicated in the agenda for the next meeting, my feeling is there are 2 or 3 large topics we need to align on and discuss; and I'm not sure whether to spread them out into separate meetings or not. Splitting is probably a good idea, given how much our group tends to chatter and go off-topic.

The first group of topics to discuss is for us to reflect as a group, see what we've learned and make sure we're still all heading in the same direction. Since making a renewed effort to systematise things late last year I think we have some things to celebrate but far more problems to address. I think it's important to note that this is simply the nature of progress and not something to be viewed as a failure; rather we should see success in knowing that as we move deeper into changing patterns which aren't working, more and more stuff will come up that needs to be addressed. We should see that as normal. Nevertheless, it will probably be an exhausting conversation for all of us.

Please add other items to the agenda document as you feel necessary. You will note I have added talking points around sharing insights and challenges- I believe this is an important part of the process, and something we should get into the habit of doing as a group.

The second group of topics is around 'the ELF religion', for want of a better word. I think part of this vision is already clear, and amusingly mostly fuelled by @deancameron the atheist in the room- living according to "modern scientific enlightenment principles", I believe was the phrase used. This covers the physical side- being in harmony with our environment, living sustainably, minimising waste and sharing resources are all clear parts of our vision.

But we still haven't really spoken as a group about the virtual side, and where ELF fits into the larger body of work that @tom120 and I are trying to build up. This is the world of networks- both the human, sociological networks that make up interconnected and mutually-supporting groups of people; and also the technological networks that create a web of shared information and blueprints about how to run communities, economies and societies better.

Recent conversations have given me pause that others might not share this vision, and so it's something we should talk about together. A critical component for cohesion in any hierarchy-less group is a strong shared vision, religion or purpose. If we have this, it gives us an anchor to hold on to that makes all the nitty-gritty, emotionally exhausting, difficult parts of living in community worth the effort.

The third group of topics are money conversations, so that we can get better about discussing commitments, contributions and realities. I still need to do a bunch more thinking before we're ready for those, so we don't have to think about those conversations yet; although I'd ideally like to have them in mid March, after I get back from the Enspiral retreat.

FWIW I just realised there's a time coordination decision tool built into Loomio ;)

It's a bit clunky to use though... :S