The Philosophy Cafe? in Everyday Ramblings

I won’t be able to go to the Mythos class for the final session next week because I will be at the beach. It is so good. Last night we talked about the modern Mythos, what ideas or concepts are framing our world mostly out of our awareness that they are, in fact, stories.

The facilitator does a lot of work in prisons, particularly bringing story and theater there. The folks that I have talked to that have seen his productions there say they are moving and profound in a way that most traditional theater doesn’t quite provide.

Last night, only one of my students was in the class and everyone else were folks I have only met in the class. And I felt like I belonged and had something to contribute. And that is a nice feeling.

I told them in broad strokes about us. Here. On Prosebox.

About how one can indulge in catastrophism, (something many of us are doing with the wars, storms, viruses, artificial intelligence and the American Presidential Election looming) but that we also have the opportunity to communicate with each other in ways never available before.

Really it hasn’t been that long since people just like you and me got around by walking or using horses.

I shared that many of you out there have helped me understand what being an American looks like to you. It is hard to see it from the inside, though I certainly am one and act like every problem out there has a solution!

The facilitator believes in the power of people gathering together and eating healthy and delicious snacks and talking about things that matter to them. I would say that is his passion in life. And he has a way to direct the conversation to keep it respectful and deep.

I think I may work on this idea, something in my head I have been calling The Philosophy Café. I like the idea of it being in a shared public space and not in some one’s home.

It helps in this class that all these people are very well educated (many Unitarians are, umm, what you might call over-educated…) and articulate but I think if properly formatted it would work for all sorts of folks. We need to talk to each other. We really really do.

My big excitement this week is that my student, friend and former IT person has been given the all clear to come back to my yoga class after he experienced the foot drop, the nerve pain and the back surgery.

He and his partner lost their Jack Russell Terrier last week after 17 years so it has been a cascade of loss and adjustment for them.

They sent me a .pdf of his required PT exercises and asked if I could incorporate them into the classes for the time being. I have two more students seeing Physical Therapists for shoulder issues. PT is expensive here and most times it hurts.

It seems like I can have a rich career after I retire providing low cost group classes that both develop community and give folks an opportunity to do their darn PT practices with others in a safe and cheerful way.

Nimrod teases me that if he wins the lottery he is setting up a studio for me in the neighborhood. I have no interest in running a studio but it is fun to imagine having one that is well managed that I can afford to use to offer classes and is say less than a fifteen minute walk away.

Next week on Friday I will be relaxing at the Oregon Coast! Much to do here to get there so I better get crackin’.

Last updated October 21, 2016