The Vision

Bo Tree is inspired by a simple and powerful vision:

“A physical encyclopedia nourishing body, mind, soul, & spirit.”

The term “physical encyclopedia” may be unfamiliar in modern times but the concept was an instrumental element in the origins of Western culture. “Encyclopedia” originally described a broad and integrated curriculum of general education. The word evolved out of a combination of two Greek words - enkyklios (meaning “complete system” or “circle”) and paideia (a system of classical education that included such subjects as gymnastics, rhetoric, music, natural history, and philosophy). It was through the paideia that Greek citizens pursued two diverging but complementary practices:

• Active participation in public life in order to advance their community, and
  
• Momentary disengagement from others in order to develop their intellectual, physical, and spiritual qualities.
  

Bo Tree will be the place that provides opportunities for our patrons to do both. Whether you live nearby or you are just passing through, the atmosphere and range of options will make Bo Tree your destination to eat, read, laugh, learn, and grow. A beloved place to drop in and hang out, to work up a sweat or settle down for some peace, to meet old friends and make new ones, to feed your body and nourish your soul, to remember the past and chart your future. Bo Tree is where people will explore the limits of their mind and body while staying grounded in the comfort of the community—a community that will also benefit from our commitment to the "triple bottom line" of people, profit, & planet. 

There are other places to buy books, but Bo Tree is where you’ll go for knowledge. There are other places to eat and exercise, but Bo Tree is where you’ll go for health. There are other places to meet your friends, but Bo Tree is where you’ll go to reconnect. 

...There are also other places to develop your business plan, but the Bo Tree Blog is where we've gone. Inspired by collaborative and democratic endeavors like Wikipedia and OpenOffice, our business ideas are out in the open. Sure, someone else may profit from this but, as someone else said, "It is more important for this to be done that it is for me to do it." If someone went as far as to completely "steal" these ideas and make it a reality then the world would be a better place. I think the advantages of an open process far outweigh this and other disadvantages.