Fall\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Full Blood Moon<\/p>\n
“There is no need like the lack of a friend.”\u00a0\u00a0 Irish saying<\/p>\n
How many sets of friends do you have?\u00a0 Not an idle question since study after study shows friendship a vital element of health.\u00a0 Friends become even more important as we age.\u00a0 Here’s a couple of examples:\u00a0 BBC<\/a>, Science.<\/a><\/p>\n Today at noon a group of friends I still consider new, but whom I’ve actually known for almost 5 years, met for lunch at the Black Forest.\u00a0 It was those from the Docent class of 2005.\u00a0 We trained together for 2 years, meeting every Wednesday during the academic year for lectures and tour practice.\u00a0 The education was fun, since I love learning new things, but over time I’ve found the relationships formed then the most important gift.<\/p>\n An introverted guy, I need these kind of stable groups.\u00a0 I’m fortunate right now to have three groups in which I’ve made networks.\u00a0 The Docent class of 2005 has, by now, blended into the docents of all classes, in particular for me, those who tour on Fridays, my tour day.\u00a0 I see these folks at continuing education, on tours, in the docent discussion group and in these more casual events that happen from time to time.<\/p>\n The Sierra Club, the most recent of the three, taps into older networks for me, the DFL political world and the world of community activists, but has opened up a new one in those people whose primary activist commitment is the environment.\u00a0 I enjoy being around the new generation of political activists, people in their 20’s and early 30’s.\u00a0 They’re bright, practical, and seem to have a better balance in their lives than I did when I was engaged as intensively as they are.<\/p>\n The oldest network for me is the Woolly Mammoths.\u00a0 With the Woolly’s I have 20+ years of twice monthly meetings, annual retreats and social occasions outside those events.\u00a0 We know each other, each other’s story, our families.\u00a0 We’ve had fights and reconciled, gone through life and death struggles and will go through more.\u00a0 As a man, I feel so lucky to have this long term set of relationships in my life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fall\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Full Blood Moon “There is no need like the lack of a friend.”\u00a0\u00a0 Irish saying How many sets of friends do you have?\u00a0 Not an idle question since study after study shows friendship a vital element of health.\u00a0 Friends become even more important as we age.\u00a0 Here’s a couple of examples:\u00a0 BBC, Science. Today … Continue reading Friends<\/span>