As you can probably see from the thumbnail, yesterday I had the chance to talk to the legendary pied piper of all things gathering, Priya Parker (whose upcoming book about navigating conflict also sounds incredible). As you may already know, in addition to her life as an author and facilitator, Priya is the host of a terrific newsletter/shared internet space (Group Life by Priya Parker), where she interviews lots of very interesting people and now also me.
What did we talk about? Lots of things. We went pretty deep on the piece I wrote in February about why your silly little potluck is essential to fighting fascism. It’s actually the first time I’ve gone into detail about why I wrote that essay, and Priya’s questions took us in some directions I wasn’t expecting. Priya also shared a ton of insights from her career in this work (and some key learnings from mentors), and we finished up with me getting to gush about how fun the Interdependence Relay has been already and how the hosts with whom I’ve gotten to work have made me the most optimistic organizer/gatherer on the planet.
While the conversation definitely hit on some topics that will be familiar to folks who’ve followed myself and/or Priya, because it was the first time the two of us have talked in public, it was fun to watch our two approaches towards gathering find each other meld together to create something, well, pretty damned inspiring and heartening. The headline: We think you can do this! Both of us do! We believe that you can build and sustain a beautiful space that’s meaningful not just for yourself but for your community.
It’s not an over-the-top exercise in hope mongering, but I have a good feeling that you’ll leave the conversation feeling better than when you went into it.
Also discussed: The cottonwood tree a couple houses down from me that is the current bane of my existence, the very good signage in the Milwaukee airport, why your friends might not be the best members of the group you start, a story about a journaling club that will make you believe that you too can start a thing, and the very selfish reason why I actually love potlucks.
If you’re a free subscriber, you’ll see a preview of our conversation. The full shooting match is for paid supporters, either of my work or of Priya’s (here’s a link to her version of this same piece). What else do paid White Pages subscribers get? Well some very cool merch (though I’m late in sending the last batch; I’m on it, I promise), including the potlucks hat I’m wearing in this video.
But wait, there’s more, like a really lovely subscriber community, perhaps the best (our discussion last Friday made me tear up repeatedly, which I mean as a compliment). And also fun bonus things like this video (though I try not to overwhelm). Most of all, you get the I hope very gratifying knowledge that you’re helping keep not only The White Pages but also The Barnraisers Project AND The Interdependence Relay running, because yes this is literally how I pay for my kids’ groceries, and dang am I lucky to have this job, but boy is it a tenuous time to make an income from do goodery and newsletterdom (as it turns out, the economy is bad for a lot of people, so if you happen to have the ability to spend a reasonable amount of money per year to keep all this work humming, you are an absolute hero and deserve a hat and also access to a neat video interview).
Oh, and whether you’re a supporter or not, please check out the relay website. We’ve got reports from Washington state, Oregon, California and Hawaii (Idaho coming soon), dates for our next batch (including a group discussion about mixed feelings about the U.S.’ 250th anniversary, which will take place in the Las Vegas area THIS THURSDAY at 5:30 PM (RSVP here to get the location, and watch this fun video from Stephanie, our Nevada host).
Also: the shirt I’m wearing is not for sale, but we’re giving sweatshirt versions of it as a gift for our relay hosts. Maybe you’d like to apply to be one of those? Did you know that applications are currently open for Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana? But that they close on June 30th? And that in addition to a sweatshirt we also have stipends? And you get to join a really cool community of other hosts? And we make it easy for you? Whoa, lot of cool facts there.
