We are all migrants. All of us.

Some have had much more challenging times than others, but in the long run I think the compelling outcome is how the journey shapes us. I see the Village as a community of migrants. We are from other countries, languages or states or difficulties, and all of us are on a migration through time. Our transitions are sometimes smooth, sometimes not; our time travel speeds along some times and skids to a stop at others.

I’m finding that migration is not easy. Through out life, I’ve been fortunate to steer through the ups and downs of life fairly easily. But now, with family spread around the globe, the Village has become for me more than an engaging community of stimulating individuals. Members call and text me and I value keeping in touch with them; they walk with me at my current slow pace –not out of pity, but in friendship.

We discuss in depth ideas larger than ourselves. We are connected to helping to improve our communities, to lobbying for better air and for social justice, and we work to understand our own biases. In one small group, I dig into memoir writing. We meet weekly, and the group environment pushes me to dig into my past in order to understand the present and leave a foundation for my children and their children.

But this doesn’t happen automatically. Every member contributes energy, innovation and time to move the Village forward, to sustain the interest groups, the ideas and our engagement. A small staff helps keep us glued together, but I think the need for all members to encourage and sustain the organization is what creates its vibrant atmosphere as we move through time.

Nancy Pine

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