I watched as the chores were being divvied out at a meeting recently. One member actually grimaced as he agreed to one thing after another. Earlier he had confided that his life was really full, so I had no idea when the group expected him to accomplish his tasks. I noticed that the other members were not excited about their jobs either. One person refused to do a task because she lacked energy for it.
The group talked about ways to get new members for more energy. And that was the reason I was there; I was investigating to see if it might be something I wanted to do. But early on I found out what the problem was – it was the kind of problem that should stop a group in its tracks and usually does. The group had been formed around a purpose that no longer existed.
It seems to me that when life loses purpose, Nature lowers the energy volume. It’s time to sit still, meditate, and dream. But our culture vilifies the image of laziness. One friend of mine quipped that he would never brag about having a lazy day to friends he wanted to keep. “Busy, busy, busy” as Bokonon says in Kurt Vonnegut’s Cats Cradle. It’s hard enough to get myself to agree to do nothing, let alone a group. And yet, when a group lacks energy, I think that is the message. “Stop doing stuff!” It’s time to hang out, dream, and dare I say it? Party!
At the turn of the 20th Century, some of the great thinkers and artists of that time gathered at salons. Gertrude Stein hosted famous parties out of which whole intellectual movements were born. A party is a great way for a group to play around with ideas. Relax in a lounge chair, listen to great music, and dream up stuff together. Since it’s a party, no one expects great ideas or even ideas that make sense – making it all the more likely that an unexpected, good idea will show up.
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