Where will the gathering be?

Where will the 2014 gathering be?
Near Heber, Utah. Click here for directions
Who is invited?
Every person with a belly button. If for some reason, you lost your belly button, you are invited as well.
What you really need to know:
How to Get Into The Gathering Without Getting a Mandatory Court Appearance Ticket.
How to Contact Someone?
If after reading the information on this blog, checking out the links on the right hand side, you still have questions, concerns, or problems, email random gatherers for assistance.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

On Belonging

I often find it hard to explain to people my perspective on what the Rainbow family means to me. Some gatherers argue that we are individuals, but I have always felt that while we are individuals, we mean more to each other than the random people who show up at a football game. I view the gathering as a big dysfunctional family. However, the word ‘family’ is loaded with baggage so sometimes it’s easier to use other words.

I’m reading a book called The Values of Belonging by Carol Lee Flinders (co-author of the Laurel's Kitchen cookbooks) as she puts forth the principles of belonging in the introduction to the book. Reading them, I felt she was expressing what the gathering means to me in terms of our relationships to each other. She makes the point that the values of belonging say “This is where I belong” while the values of mainstream Western civilization would say, “This belongs to me.” If you want to learn more about her and her work, visit her website . In the interest of sharing, I’ve included the bullet points from the book highlighting the values of belonging which for me expresses some of the best aspects of gathering. 

From the Healthy Yummy Website
  • Intimate connection with the land to which one “belongs.”
  • Empathetic relationship to animals
  • Self-restraint and custodial conservatism
  • Deliberateness (being present)
  • Balance
  • Expressiveness
  • Generosity
  • Egalitarianism
  • Mutuality
  • Affinity for alternative modes of knowing
  • Playfulness
  • Inclusiveness
  • Nonviolent conflict resolution
  • Openness to spirit

What do you think?

1 comment:

  1. As I stumble-bummed my way through my youth I was fortunate enough to trip over a Gathering. There I learned the value of feeling a sense of belonging. You see I am an odd bird and never felt that before, as no one would tolerate me about for long.

    I have always self-identified myself a 'Rainbow'. I am a richer, larger soul for having a chance to 'plug-in'. See you when I do. Until then remember, "What I cannot do alone We can do together."

    ReplyDelete

Comments that use racial/sexists slurs, advocate violence against anyone, or that attempt to sell things will not be published. If this is what you're into, do it on your own website.

I welcome healthy debate on ideas of interest to the 2014 annual gathering of the tribes.