Rules vs. Guidelines
The Island staff holds responsibility for setting “rules” that keep us physically safe while we are on Island, such as prohibiting open flames indoors. But, the responsibility to foster Beloved Community belongs to all of us.
Our behaviors and attitudes on island cannot be dictated by “rules”; they must be lived into because of our intrinsic motivation and intentional effort to be inclusive, self-aware and forever becoming better versions of who we are (as individuals and as a community). This guidebook is the product of contributors who love Star Island and long for us to grow spiritually together; it is about who we are, who we want to be and how we will be together. It is an invitation to reflect on our culture and traditions, and to bend our norms and practices towards inclusion and sensitivity, especially of marginalized populations.
This work will be ongoing, and suggestions here are offered to our leaders for consideration and discussion; perhaps as inspiration for initiating small but meaningful shifts in how we are together. They are not rules or mandates, but invitations into what we hope will be a long and spiritual conversation.