On Microsolidarity
Microsolidarity is community building. At first glance it sounds like a two person friendship (Dyads) and a group of friends hanging out (Crews), and a large friend network (Congregations). And those are great things. But under the lens of Microsolidarity, there are two objectives that could make more than friendship.
1. The first objective of microsolidarity is to create structures for belonging.
2. The second objective is to support people into meaningful work. This is very broadly defined: you decide what is meaningful to you.
You may very well get those things from friendships and not need to think any further about all this. That’s great.
For me, I’d like to think more intentionally about these relationships. Because:
The single biggest determination of long term health is the relationships we have. Not the amount, but the quality and longevity. Check out this seventy year research study from Harvard.
We got Ikigai all wrong. Our Ikigai are typically not our jobs or careers. It’s how we engage with ourselves, and the people around us. Once again, Anne-Laure of Ness Labs writes just the thing I need, at just the right time.
Circles of control, influence, and concern. There’s stocism, psychology, and some real wisdom in this way of being.
Lastly for me, these two quotes are the ideals I try to hold space for when beginning and maintaining an effort.
Begin before you’re ready
You could watch YouTube tutorials all day for a week if you wanted to learn how to ride a bike. Or you can get on the bike right now.
The Path is made by walking
No one knows what they’re doing. Yes education, methodologies, ethics, and governance matter for a lot of things. You cant just start by performing surgery or therapy, first you need education. Licensure, etc. But for most things, especially creative things, once you start walking you find the way. Inspiration doesn’t create action. It’s the other way around.
Crewing
Calling three to five interesting people together for a short term experiment is called Crewing. You call together a Crew. I like the term call, as it’s not any one persons Crew. There is no single ownership, but one person can start the Crew.
The short term timeline is great too, as it’s hard for people to come together in general, with the busy lives we lead. Short term makes it easier to commit to and disband gracefully if folks want to opt out.
The Crew meets regularly on a cadence that makes sense to the folks involved. Starting with an intro meeting to let the Crew members get to know each other a bit. Then each subsequent meeting asks for a Crew member to share something they’re working on, passionate about, and/or struggling with. The other Crew members provide coaching, not advice. One everyone has had their meeting, the experiment concludes with a Retrospective. The Crew addresses what went well, and what could be better, And if and how the Crew should proceed.
I’ve started one Crew and it’s been going well. This week I’ve started calling together another Crew. I have plans for two more. I hope some or all of these Crews stay together in some way. But moreover I hope the people in the Crews call their own Crews together. This leads to the Congregation. The Congregation could meet every six month or yearly to expand relationships and build community.
All in all it sounds like a wonderful, slow, organic way to build community.