Cultivating Non-Romantic Intimacy

“The intimacy that comes with time and attention allows us to be vulnerable with others. This intimacy, across a group, can become a durable network—like mycelia. We are strongest when we feel safe being soft.” To me, that network feels like security.

What’s clarifying is that I do believe every person is important. That means working on a human scale matters. Things don’t feel small and petty if you really believe every life is precious and fully linked to all life on Earth. I may not be religious, but I hold community as sacred all the same.

What would group living, based on that definition, look like as a guiding principle in our lives—however we structure our homes? I think the first step toward that is building routines with others—like the ritual of a shared meal, as you mention—things you can do inside of a home and outside of one. I wanted to encourage readers to look for ways to... See more