There are always the kinds of folks who want to live in a small frontier town. They come because they are tired of being controlled and want freedom; because they get ostracized from mainstream society; because they want to be part of building and founding something; because they are small or medium fish and a smaller pond is better than a bigger one for them; because they prefer knowing their neighbors and relaxed, small town vibes; because they know that frontiers tend to attract their kind of people; or because they see some potential in that town and know that if they stick with it, they and the town will prosper together.
There are always the kinds of folks who don’t want to live in a small frontier town. When they visit, they dislike that there’s nothing exciting to do, the pace of life is too slow with too little action, few people live here, few who live here share their background or interests, wild or offensive people live here, there’s not enough regulation, the infrastructure isn’t well developed, they don’t know how to (or don’t want to) make their own fun.
Some small frontier towns become ghost towns, but others, which are situated strategically, get the chance to grow. Towns on river mouths grow; towns on crossroads and train tracks grow; towns with thriving industries grow. More and different people live there now. There’s more to do, more being said. The town gets a glow-up and the finer things of life flow in. And then, sometimes, some of the city folk are a little more happy to stay.
I believe Nostr is “situated strategically” because of its unique properties, like a frontier town on a river mouth. There’s no need to fret about whether Nostr will grow or become what you hope it will be; just give it time and do your best to leave your mark. There’s no need to dis the “city folk” who don’t want to stay; many of their complaints are perfectly valid; just give it time, and as long as what they’re looking for is possible within Nostr’s basic structure and values, they might just take up residence when things get a little more developed. It doesn’t actually make you any better than them that you stay and they go, though it does show that you are more rugged, or at least better adapted to our particular frontier conditions.
Stay patient and present and I know I’ll be seeing more of you, neighbor!
#grownostr #thoughts
