Intentional Society: The great hall of belonging
Our next orientation video call is next week, Saturday August 27th
Imagine the great hall of an ancient stone castle, as you swing open the heavy oak doors twice as tall as yourself. The large rectangular room stretches lengthwise in front of you, unoccupied, stone walls well lit by steady flames in sconces at regular intervals. As you walk down the spacious, high-ceilinged hall, you see rows of framed portraits on both sides, honoring the many people who sometimes occupy this space, the denizens of this realm. Next to each frame, you see their own words extending goodwill, as well as their current quest, where they can be found, and even a magic button to summon them. Midway down one side of the room, you find your own frame - a representation of your own presence and shared membership in the society that has built this castle and ranges across this land. Turning in a circle to survey the whole hall, you can feel the care and comradeship that suffuses even the stones themselves, and look forward to the next gathering which will animate this space with laughter and stories and song.
Thus goes the vision of the Hall of Members - a large piece of our new castle (err, excuse me: Member Portal) that anchors our community in persistent virtual space. The vision above is meant to convey the experience, the atmosphere, of our intention in having it. In reality the hall is currently a spreadsheet, and it doesn't have any fancy VR tech or even pictures yet. The simple aim is a sense of potential and of belonging. Our regular interactions happen via live video, and while we value rich interpersonal relating far more than lower-bandwidth platforms, I think this extension of our relational container fills a gap between and outside of our calls.
The idiosyncratic name is similarly intentional, inviting questions about what it is, what it means, what might be possible in or through this handcrafted "Hall of Members" artifact. We get to co-evolve our understanding of its purpose alongside the iteration of its form and functionality. There are currently 30+ name-frames arrayed in "the hall" and I imagine that seeing it now for the first time will give us a much better sense of what kind of info wants to be there for round two. We'll be refreshing this each season, part of our regular lifecycle of self-awareness and intention renewal.
Zooming out: We are crafting our social and relational constructs in order to inhabit a more integrous life, the better world-self-system that our hearts know is possible... One stone at a time.
Cheers, James