My friend is down in New Orleans volunteering at the Common Ground Collective: commongroundrelief.org

she recently sent me this email i thought I would share:

I just wanted to let everyone know I am safe and sound in New Orleans.
there is so much to tell.

So many conflicting emtions pulsing through every pore of my body with such intensity that i don't know what to do with it all. or exactly how to process it:
love, devistation, despair, hope, anguish, loss, creation, destruction, compassion, frustration.... everything intensified by the environmnet. My heart fills to the point of bursting on a daily basis.

the power of humanity is beautiful.

part of me feels so disconnected from the rest of the world and from the rest of you. I know whatever information and experience i attempt to relay to you all will only pale in comparison to the reality of life down here.

Imagine your whole life: all your belongings, your car, your home, your neighborhood, your community.. gone, lost, destroyed, devestated... everything.everything
who would call for help? your family is scattered around the country, or dead, or lost... your neighbors are gone... your friends are your neighbors and your family... who do you have? who do you have to help you?
the city isn't collecting trash, there's still no electricity in your neighborhood. everything you've ever posessed in your life has been saturated with stagnant, bacteria ridden flood water and is filling your apartment. your apartment is contaminated with toxic mold and high spore counts. and you have no means to reclaim what you have lost. no money, no job, no support. nothing. would you want to face that on your own? could you face that on your own?

right now, I just want to plant a seed. a suggestion. a plea. Consider, maybe, coming down here, just for a week, or more, to help with the relief effort. If you can afford to take a week off, to go on vacation, you can afford to come here. If you've ever been to Burning Man, or even plan on going this year... The Common Ground Collective, embodies the ideals of collective living and self sustainablity that is the heart and soul of Black Rock City.
commongroundrelief.org

The community of volunteers continues to amazing me. It is a group of people that come together to maintain the community, but instead of building a temporary city for a week in the desert, the organization is dedicated to reclaiming and rebuilding the homes and lives of the one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in the nation.

Everyone knows we're all here for the same reason: respect, compassion, and love for fellow human beings. Everyone is so giving of their time and energy and posessions. I meet so many new people everyday. And I am constantly uplifted and inspired by everyone's commitment and dedication to the organization, to New Orleans, and to humaity as a whole.

There is a group of people who do bike repair, kitchen duty, clean up, food distribution, there is a women's center, a medical center, child care, house gutting.. people who run the housing, who maintain the volunteer living spaces, who run the media center where I sit now, ... and they are all just a part of this community. They don't get paid, but they know all their basic needs are provided for by other volunteers and members of the community. (and the food is really good) And it's not just all hard work that is shared: Last night during dinner a band played, a girl belly danced, and another guy performed magic tricks. all just contributing to the community effort.

Residents of the 9th ward thank us and thank me so profusely and so genuinely every day it breaks my heart.

All I keep thinking to myself is: Destruction is a form of Creation...
and the hope that has risen out of such despair is a testiment to this. I really do feel like I am a part of a movement... this has gone beyond an experiment in collective living and self sustainablitity. It is a full on functioning reality. I really do believe it is the next step in evolution of society.
The Common Ground is an example. so is Burning Man.

So, I just wanted to get that out there. If you have any more specific questions about the situation down here or about the organization, please don't hesitate to contact me and I will gladly answer them. I have only just scratched the surface of all the aspects of the organization and the desperate situation down here.

there is so much more to tell.

Please pass this along to eveyone you know. Please. Even if you don't think you can come, maybe someone else will.
love and thank you-