I arrived at Aloha for the first time in April 2018. It was my first destination of a woofing and self discovery long-term travel. During my 6 weeks here, I discovered what it looked like to live without feeling judged or disrespected. I was surrounded by acceptance and open mindedness and knew right on the first day that I could totally be myself here. I ended up coming back to Aloha after a few months of travelling, and I’m now part of the community for at least a couple months. I work here almost on a daily basis. I enjoy spending a few hours in the garden almost everyday, cooking lunch with our freshly harvested food, spending time with the kids…It is like a family to me. I have never felt so at home, internally and physically. Daily #lifeataloha We start our day with a morning meditation where we chant together, check-in with how we are doing, and express gratitude: a lovely way to connect with our body, our voice and our heart before starting the day. Once a week, the community gathers for what we call forum: a facilitated sharing space where everyone is present to witness and support each other’s need to share, process, or simply express themselves. It is a space to be seen and heard for real. We can talk about specific situations or events happening within the community; or about what is going on within ourselves as individuals. Forum is a space where we can feel safe to be vulnerable and share what we would normally keep uncomfortably inside us due to the absence of a safe space, and because we were never really taught on how to process and communicate what needs healing. The weekly women circles are another beautiful space where we have the occasion to reflect and learn on many things we normally don’t really bring our full attention on as women. Sometimes we simply check-in and discuss on specific issues, and sometimes we have a theme for the night. Here are some that have been touched on during this summer: What are healthy boundaries, how to bring them up? Is it normal to feel like isolating ourselves for a few days? How to balance our feminine and our masculine energies? Is there only one way to love and be loved? We talk about feminism, motherhood, body acceptance, polyamory, healthy seduction, healthy sexuality, feminine archetypes, chakra healing, etc. In our free time, we go on hikes together, we enjoy the Saturday market, we make art, play outside with the kids, go to the lake, watch movies. Sometimes we we have improvised workshops with people who stay for a few days/weeks and have specific skills and knowledge, etc. Basically, we enjoy life! Growing with the Community Everyday I feel my heart open a bit more, and every morning I am excited for a new day.