What's it for?

Hello,

I took a wee break from writing these updates over the festive period. It wasn’t exactly an intentional break; I just got super focused on building my shed/office - which is still not finished! 🙄

Anyhow, Lynn and I were walking Arthur (our hairy trip hazard of a dog) when we bumped into our neighbor, Ray, who asked about Fish And Bear. Well, actually, to be more accurate, he asked about “that storytelling thing you do.” So we told him how it runs and where and when, etc. But the question he had, and he asked it twice because we sucked at answering it, was, “What’s its purpose?” and “What’s it for?”

I think we struggled to answer it because we’d kind of forgotten; we’ve been doing it for a while now, and so it seems so completely obvious and natural to us that we could seem to find the words. A bit like trying to explain to someone how to ride a bicycle or drive a car, once you have been doing it for a while, you get to a point where it is second nature, and it takes a little reanalysis to find the words.

So what is it for?

On a big scale, Fish And Bear is the antidote to the separation and isolation caused by social media. That’s a bit lofty, but it is true.

On social media apps, people share their opinions, and we are fed opinions that enrage us, separate us, and support our inherent prejudices and fears.

Fish And Bear is the opposite; we sit in a circle with whoever turns up, and we follow prompts to tell stories of what we have seen and experienced in our lives. Those stories are not opinions, and those experiences create a human connection between us based on either relating to the story, or learning about an experience that we have never had.

And on a smaller scale, Fish And Bear is both relaxing in a meditative way as you listen without reaction or response, and uplifting to realize how diversely similar people are.

Ucht, that’s a lot of words. Why do we do it? Because it is interesting and fun.

You should try it.

See you on Tuesday,

Mark

xx

P.S. Lynn’s having a book launch for Volume 3 of her Note From the Valley at The Valley Hive on January 18th. Click here for details and to RSVP.

If you fancy reading some of Lynn’s writing, then check out her weekly Notes From The Valley at lynnfergy.com

Or you could buy her books.