What Does "The Commons" Mean to You?

After an hour or so of flipping through The Point Reyes Light newspaper archives, Elizabeth and I headed over to Blackbird Cafe to catch up and discuss other projects.  As our conversation wound down, Elizabeth asked out of simple curiosity what drew me to the commons.  It was after my rambling and scrambling to find an answer that I realized that I wasn't exactly sure why.  I will admit that the concept of the commons is still a difficult concept for me to grasp.  I realize that it will take time, research, and self reflection to slowly understand just what the commons are.  We talked about her experience of being in the mall in Washington D.C. and how it lacked a sense of place.  That is, the mall, any mall, contains stores that you can find anywhere, food chains that serve the same dish no matter where you go.  The concept of the mall, the idea of creating an absolute uniform world in order to make "life simpler,"is becoming less of a truth.

On the commons, I know of this:  The commons are more of a way of life, a feeling, an inherent behavior, rather than a physical thing.  It  was in my dialogue with Elizabeth about the phenomenon of malls that I realized the commons comes from within.  I discussed with her how I used to love the mall.  Shopping, what isn't to love?  It wasn't until I moved to San Francisco, and experienced the uniqueness of many local city businesses, that I noticed the dullness of the mall.  The mall lacks a certain feeling of comfort.  It's uniformity can be found in San Francisco, and thousands of miles away in D.C.  To most, including myself, it doesn't sound like such a bad idea, but it is just how far we have gone with uniformity, that makes it detrimental to the preservation or the commons.  The importance of supporting local businesses goes much deeper than economics.  Local businesses preserve the people of a place.  As we sat in Blackbird, I realized how much more emotionally satisfying it is to drink my simple cup of joe at a local cafe, rather than sipping my coffee at a Starbucks (which by the way, does not exist in Point Reyes).  It's simple.  Uniformity removes a place of its unique charm.  It ignores the qualities of the people that inhabit a place.

I find myself rambling, and still unsatisfied with my write-up, I will revisit this topic as I continue my summer and contemplate exactly what is the commons?  Please feel free to tell me, what are the commons to you?

Until then,
Tessa