Finding Mr Green

In case you don't know me I will just start with explaining that transition pretty much summarises who I am. It shares most of my values and beliefs, it defines how I try to live my life, I even work for a Transition Initiative albeit an unusual one, it is also what I want to do with my future. For more info on the depths of my Transitioness check out my How Transition Changed my Life post.

So with that clear, my answer to one of the question Helen asked us 'How much do you let the Transition lifestyle interfere with your relationships?' is that it's kind of hard not too when that's essentially who I am. It does, however, create additional hurdles in what is not the easiest quest in the first place.

The first fairly obvious side effect is that the number of people who can comprehend and accept (even if they don't follow) what I believe in and how I live is relatively small, making the chance of finding them much smaller. For example I went on a date with a lovely guy who turned out to be a carnivore capitalist (his definition not mine!) which was going to make things a bit tricky.

And how do you find these people? Those who agree with the transition ethos are so diverse that it's not like knowing you like heavy metal and so going to lots of heavy metal concerts. Transitioners don't follow stereotypes or labels (apart from that they are all lovely!)

This is not made easier by the fact that our society doesn't really offer many easy opportunities for talking to people and getting to know them. We seem to be expected to make all decisions on face value. Hopefully transition's community building is changing this, so maybe in 20 years time...

And if you do meet lovely people on the same path as you then another hurdle rears its head. Transatlantic relationships aren't really viable if you have vowed never to fly again. So a further limit - keep it local!

It's not all barriers and problems though (just like its not all hair shirts and lentils!). So much of Transition is about building positive, nourishing relationships that this can only be good in the long term. And we are constantly encouraging community and connections. So maybe it takes a wee bit longer to get started (no quick convenience culture here), but it's built to last and it's a lot more fun if your partner likes climbing trees and gets as excited about home grown jerusalem artichokes as you do!

Photos: maybe we need a transition uniform so that we are easier to identify - I'm voting for this stylish look, muddy matches online dating: lovely transitioners or feudalist recreational hunters?