Beltane Beltane Moon
The Woolly Mammoths have gathered annually for 28 years, this in addition to twice monthly meetings. In the early years we had highly structured retreats, with each man expected to present an hours worth of reflection on mother, father, death, pilgrimage, themes that mattered to us at the time. We may have needed the careful boundaries to insure we didn’t get too close, have too much time for random conversation.
Over the last several years our retreats have become less structured, often lacking even the semblance of structure beyond beginning and end. This year had a little structure, a trip to the International Wolf Center, a meal prepared by star chef Haislet, a dramatically presented poem, but for the most part we gathered in small groups or one on one. We talked about travel plans, retirement, marriage, health, books, Chinese tea. Some kayaked, others hiked, a couple napped.
We came together three times a day for meals, but otherwise the time was mostly self-0rganizing. And very comfortable. Intimate.
I suspect this is the pattern of the future. And the future may be, will be different. It might involve electronic gatherings via skype or adobe or some other conferencing type of software. We are aging and will not always be able to gather in strength. We have to plan now to keep our group vital.
