by Katie S
The longest Place Retreat ever! To be honest, I didn’t really notice the extra hour, but I think I slept through it so that may be why. The place retreat is always an interesting experience. It’s a place where you feel socially awkward, surrounded by people you don’t know but wish you knew because you see them every Sunday and they seem really cool but you’re just too scared to talk to them. In my case that might be a direct result of me being a dork and knowing that if I talk to those cool people they’ll find out. But that’s a different story all together. Then there are the people who you swear you’ve never seen before and you find it hard to believe that you’re members of the same community. And if you’re like me and you’re scared to go anywhere without someone you know, one or many of your good friends are there too. With these people you laugh, learn and act just plain crazy. You’re a mixing pot of creativity and enthusiasm.
The thing that is most amazing to me about this annual event is that social barriers are torn down. Our community is a giant farrago of people who come from different places and are passionate about different things. That’s something that makes the Place beautiful, but I personally find it challenging. I’ve heard more than a few times that our community can come across as exclusive or cliquey. It’s outright scary to walk through those doors for the first time on a Sunday night, into a motley mass of unfamiliar faces. I’ve been going to the place for over five years and sometimes it still freaks me out. But in a group of people as large as us, it’s impossible to really feel a sense of community if you don’t break up into smaller units. The Place Retreat proves to me, and I hope others, that we are an accepting and welcoming community. When there’s a slightly smaller number of us from all different social circles, making yourself vulnerable to people you don’t know by letting them know you is so much more tangible. I wouldn’t say that the retreat makes fewer yet larger Place pods; our social groupings don’t necessarily change. But it sure creates a lot more friendly faces on a Sunday night, and that in itself makes the Place feel more like home.
The longest Place Retreat ever! To be honest, I didn’t really notice the extra hour, but I think I slept through it so that may be why. The place retreat is always an interesting experience. It’s a place where you feel socially awkward, surrounded by people you don’t know but wish you knew because you see them every Sunday and they seem really cool but you’re just too scared to talk to them. In my case that might be a direct result of me being a dork and knowing that if I talk to those cool people they’ll find out. But that’s a different story all together. Then there are the people who you swear you’ve never seen before and you find it hard to believe that you’re members of the same community. And if you’re like me and you’re scared to go anywhere without someone you know, one or many of your good friends are there too. With these people you laugh, learn and act just plain crazy. You’re a mixing pot of creativity and enthusiasm.
The thing that is most amazing to me about this annual event is that social barriers are torn down. Our community is a giant farrago of people who come from different places and are passionate about different things. That’s something that makes the Place beautiful, but I personally find it challenging. I’ve heard more than a few times that our community can come across as exclusive or cliquey. It’s outright scary to walk through those doors for the first time on a Sunday night, into a motley mass of unfamiliar faces. I’ve been going to the place for over five years and sometimes it still freaks me out. But in a group of people as large as us, it’s impossible to really feel a sense of community if you don’t break up into smaller units. The Place Retreat proves to me, and I hope others, that we are an accepting and welcoming community. When there’s a slightly smaller number of us from all different social circles, making yourself vulnerable to people you don’t know by letting them know you is so much more tangible. I wouldn’t say that the retreat makes fewer yet larger Place pods; our social groupings don’t necessarily change. But it sure creates a lot more friendly faces on a Sunday night, and that in itself makes the Place feel more like home.
1 comment:
I like this very much. Thanks Katie S
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