Comment below: *** --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "L B Shriver" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Fairfield's Future > > Over the past several years, I have engaged in countless conversations about the state of > Fairfield and its prospects for the future. I have generally taken the position that Fairfield's > best years are yet to come. A few years ago, most of the people I engaged on this topic > were surprised by my position and only a few agreed. Within the past year, however, I > would say that the majority agree: Fairfield's best years are yet to come. > > Fairfield has a unique mix of businesses and industries. The only weakness there is that > the economic base is not currently strong enough to support more people who would like > to be living here but can't afford it. > > Nevertheless, the infrastructure here is good and the local government is forward-looking, > The entrepreneurial environment is outstanding. > > In what some would regard as a worst case scenario, we must consider the possibility that > the university might tank. Although on one level that would be a loss, no one knows what > might follow in its wake, including many fresh possibilities that none of us have > considered. > > On the other hand, the university has shown some signs of life lately. Aside from the > physical transformation of the campus, it has attracted some talented people. There are > signs here and there of the tide finally turning. Too early to say how far this will go, but if > the university has its own little renaissance, the rest of the community will benefit as well. > > It is my contention that either way—with or without a viable TM organization—Fairfield will > thrive. > > I admit there is a bit of a paradox here that is uncomfortable for some people to address. > It is simply this: > > Without Maharishi this community would never have been created, and the opportunities > and quality of life found here would never have come into existence. On the other, the > days are long gone where one could legitimately say that Fairfield is Maharishi's town. It > has evolved into something more complex and diverse, and in my view it is this > evolutionary development toward diversity that gives the community its viability. > > The judgement that this diversity is damaging to the community is both an anachronism > and a source of continuing bad feeling within the community. In fact, this judgement itself > is perhaps the biggest single barrier to the community's progress, at least on the spiritual > level. > > There are signs lately that this judgmentalism is softening within the university. Of course, > there is no lack of judgments being held in the community south of the university, either. > The difference is that the TMO has the capability to enforce some of its judgments, > therefore signs of progress there bode well for all of us. > > This is why I am optimistic about the future of the community. One way or another, the > most spiritually regressive aspects of the community consciousness will be purged. There > is nothing especially magic or unexpected about this; when something goes as far as it > can go in one direction, the pendulum, as they say, swings the other way. > > L B S > **END**
Well expressed. Thanks. I only lived in Fairfield a total of a little over 4 years (over a couple of stints) and finally moved away after the Taste of Utopia course. I believe I had come back into town only once or twice after that and I hadn't been back for maybe 10 years before I visited again just last year. I was really pleased with how comfortable and real a place it felt to be. The total vibe was pleasant and substantial; kind of like an Ashland or Sedona. High and real. At this point, even without the university, I agree that Fairfield is likely to become even more charged and more mature. Perhaps even a place of pilgrimage. Thanks, again. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
