Lots of wisdom and great advice here! I would add that praying for good friends and like-minded folk has been invaluable for me over the years: God has never failed to provide, and often they have been people I wouldn't have "naturally" connected with.
On a practical level, I would also add that it might be worth moving to be near a community that shares, at least somewhat, your vision for what a good life looks like. I know it's not possible for everyone, but I think culturally we tend to think of "jobs" or "cost of living" as acceptable reasons for moving, but rarely do we consider "community" (whether that be family, church, school, friends, or other forms) a "good enough" reason to move. And yet, often that is the thing that brings the most meaning and purpose to our lives! Often, we're willing to sacrifice connection and community for a career, but we aren't willing to do the reverse. Why not? I think it's worth discerning for everyone.
Kerri, I always appreciate the time you take in adding such thoughtful reflections. Agreed, prayer indeed can move mountains. With regard to moving near community, one of the sayings our family has developed over the years is "people over place" - even the most beautiful setting can feel dismal if there is no one to connect with.
“People over place.” What a great mantra, Ruth! It can be applied on many levels and it’s a wonderful counterpoint to a culture that revolves around work and money and things in general.
You're a minority, but not in the way you think. The vast majority of people are searching for meaning and transcendence and telos... most of them just don't realize it. Even a thinker as great as David Hume got distracted by shiny objects. You're the minority that doesn't get distracted. That's powerful. Use it.
Something I have put together which just took a bit of upfront organization was to set up a book club. I put out a message through a community group for members. Right now we have about 10-15 people attending each meeting with very positive results!
I added a book exchange separate from our regular reading prompting people to meet 1 on 1 outside of our meetings which is also slowly gaining traction.
What I have learned so far, which is really not mind-blowing is that you do not need to carry all the weight on your own shoulders. Once you bring people together 2-3 times you have momentum and a bit of community that is difficult to quantify. Now when I set up our space I can relax and enjoy that people are talking to each other and starting to build up there own connections.
Recently, in another group of mine we read a really terrible (in my opinion) book by a prominent activist. The word "justice" and "equality" must have appeared over 100 times each. No definition of course. But, because I was in this group I felt more comfortable saying why this book made me uncomfortable and it led to a really great discussion that I think pointed out the pitfalls in this kind of roaming justice based activism. We also heard a wonderful story of the mental state of some of our members in East Germany prior to the fall of the Berlin wall. One women said her friends had a phrase "No future", and when the wall finally came down how they felt completely overwhelmed with emotion, it was completely unexpected. After the story we tried to think of what our wall was today. No one knew, but it felt like an impactful conversation.
One area I find digital technology is especially pernicious, is the generational separation. The groups I've joined are skewed towards seniors, with a good overall blend from millennial to baby boomer. Online the push is younger and younger, particularly with women.
Wow! What wonderful comments. I wish I could sit down with each of these people over a cup of coffee. It’s so good to know that there are others out there that think like I do. This is why I’m still online. It’s the only place I can connect with people who think like me. I’m 65 and still looking for my tribe. I do find many lovely people who have bits and pieces in common, and I appreciate them so much. I think I’ll make it a goal this year to try to find an in-person group ( or create one) of like-minded people to share with and learn from.
For another place to meet like-minded people in real life, try out Estuary (search "estuaryhub" and it will be the first result). I started attending a group a year ago and have met wonderful people.
Yeah it's a low-tech website so you can't search by location, have to scroll through the list looking. Sorry there's not a group near you, it's growing but definitely not everywhere. There's regular Zoom training to get into it if you chose to start one :)
I find it easier to be alone in a crowd than in a small gathering ("For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20)
Lots of wisdom and great advice here! I would add that praying for good friends and like-minded folk has been invaluable for me over the years: God has never failed to provide, and often they have been people I wouldn't have "naturally" connected with.
On a practical level, I would also add that it might be worth moving to be near a community that shares, at least somewhat, your vision for what a good life looks like. I know it's not possible for everyone, but I think culturally we tend to think of "jobs" or "cost of living" as acceptable reasons for moving, but rarely do we consider "community" (whether that be family, church, school, friends, or other forms) a "good enough" reason to move. And yet, often that is the thing that brings the most meaning and purpose to our lives! Often, we're willing to sacrifice connection and community for a career, but we aren't willing to do the reverse. Why not? I think it's worth discerning for everyone.
Kerri, I always appreciate the time you take in adding such thoughtful reflections. Agreed, prayer indeed can move mountains. With regard to moving near community, one of the sayings our family has developed over the years is "people over place" - even the most beautiful setting can feel dismal if there is no one to connect with.
“People over place.” What a great mantra, Ruth! It can be applied on many levels and it’s a wonderful counterpoint to a culture that revolves around work and money and things in general.
J: Philosophy is a 3000 year long conversation attempting to answer the exact questions you're asking. I teach phil, poli-sci and econ at the HS level. I would suggest Hillsdale College's free Intro to Western Phil -- https://online.hillsdale.edu/courses/introduction-to-western-philosophy It's completely free, assumes no existing knowledge, and gives a great overview from Plato to postmodernism in a dozen lectures and reading excerpts. In addition, in-between Descartes and Hume, I would add this video on Pascal -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd2E88jkNIA -- and these readings -- https://www.web.stanford.edu/~jsabol/certainty/readings/PascalPensees.pdf . These are the exact videos and readings I use with my students.
You're a minority, but not in the way you think. The vast majority of people are searching for meaning and transcendence and telos... most of them just don't realize it. Even a thinker as great as David Hume got distracted by shiny objects. You're the minority that doesn't get distracted. That's powerful. Use it.
Thanks for sharing that Hillsdale course. I'm presently taking one of theirs on CS Lewis and the imagination.
Something I have put together which just took a bit of upfront organization was to set up a book club. I put out a message through a community group for members. Right now we have about 10-15 people attending each meeting with very positive results!
I added a book exchange separate from our regular reading prompting people to meet 1 on 1 outside of our meetings which is also slowly gaining traction.
What I have learned so far, which is really not mind-blowing is that you do not need to carry all the weight on your own shoulders. Once you bring people together 2-3 times you have momentum and a bit of community that is difficult to quantify. Now when I set up our space I can relax and enjoy that people are talking to each other and starting to build up there own connections.
Recently, in another group of mine we read a really terrible (in my opinion) book by a prominent activist. The word "justice" and "equality" must have appeared over 100 times each. No definition of course. But, because I was in this group I felt more comfortable saying why this book made me uncomfortable and it led to a really great discussion that I think pointed out the pitfalls in this kind of roaming justice based activism. We also heard a wonderful story of the mental state of some of our members in East Germany prior to the fall of the Berlin wall. One women said her friends had a phrase "No future", and when the wall finally came down how they felt completely overwhelmed with emotion, it was completely unexpected. After the story we tried to think of what our wall was today. No one knew, but it felt like an impactful conversation.
One area I find digital technology is especially pernicious, is the generational separation. The groups I've joined are skewed towards seniors, with a good overall blend from millennial to baby boomer. Online the push is younger and younger, particularly with women.
Thanks for sharing your experience Dabi. It sounds like you have been able to build some fruitful connections where open conversations can grow :)
Wow! What wonderful comments. I wish I could sit down with each of these people over a cup of coffee. It’s so good to know that there are others out there that think like I do. This is why I’m still online. It’s the only place I can connect with people who think like me. I’m 65 and still looking for my tribe. I do find many lovely people who have bits and pieces in common, and I appreciate them so much. I think I’ll make it a goal this year to try to find an in-person group ( or create one) of like-minded people to share with and learn from.
Yes, sitting down over a cup of coffee would definitely be my preferred way of interacting with readers here!
For another place to meet like-minded people in real life, try out Estuary (search "estuaryhub" and it will be the first result). I started attending a group a year ago and have met wonderful people.
Looks interesting - would be helpful if there were an "about" page to get a sense of who is behind the project. Great idea :)
That sounds interesting. It would not let me enter a location, and there are no pre existing groups in my area.
Yeah it's a low-tech website so you can't search by location, have to scroll through the list looking. Sorry there's not a group near you, it's growing but definitely not everywhere. There's regular Zoom training to get into it if you chose to start one :)
Such a wonderful list! Thank you for curating it, Ruth and Peco.
I find it easier to be alone in a crowd than in a small gathering ("For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20)
If there are any like-minded brothers and sisters in Scotland or anywhere in Great Britain, I would be very glad to make ties with them.
I'm looking to get some like-minded people meeting up in or around Flint, Michigan if anyone is nearby.
Luke, have you found some folks? I know some good people in Detroit that I could connect you with!