I Have No Crystal Ball
Often, when I go to Fish And Bear, I think I know how the event will go. But the only constant is that I really don’t know at all.
I’m confident that the Fish And Bear structure will work: Stories will be told. Connection will be felt. Friendships will start. And the initial quiet, just before we start, will be replaced by the joyful hubbub of a group of friends chatting comfortably together when we come to the end of the event.
I just can’t predict the experience.
We set the exercises, so you might assume that we’d know how people will react, and to some extent we do. But the wildcard is that the event is made by the people who turn up. They choose what stories they tell and what they connect to, and so we never can tell what we are going to get.
Last week, I wasn’t expecting much because I was so very tired. Lynn and I had been out almost every night for a week. This would have been more normal in our 20s, but Lynn is very old now, and I’m not too far behind her. (I hope she doesn’t read this! 😏)
I knew my adrenaline would fire up and it would work as an event, but when I feel tired, I somehow assume everyone else will be too. This was not the case at all.
Most of the stories last week created a lot of laughter, but there were also a couple of really touching, deep stories that brought a tear or two to my eyes. I had a brilliant experience, way beyond what my energy levels had predicted.
And somehow I found myself telling one of my most embarrassing stories - one I usually only tell very quietly to new fathers, as a warning that parenthood is Nature’s way of getting you back for ridiculing your own parents.
I have no idea what this week will bring, but last week we learned that most good mothers are intimidating, that we should all do more dancing, and that everyone hates it when someone tells them that they look tired, so just don’t say it!
Hope to see you at MacLeod’s on Thursday.
I’d tell you what to expect, but honestly, I have no idea.
Mark
xo
Fish and Bear is held every Thursday at 7pm.
Check out our WEBSITE: https://fishandbear.net
If you fancy reading some of Lynn’s writing, then check out her weekly Notes From The Valley at lynnfergy.com
