Also possibly a future topic! It's one I've given a lot of thought to, because my religious life is, of necessity, if I do group work, dependent on a lot of "What can I do and sustain while also having the appropriate (and quite likely changing) degree of control."
(For people who don't know, I'm a priestess in an initiatory religious witchcraft tradition: Wicca is a close enough first approximation. I haven't done much teaching or any group work since I moved to Maine, but it's a long-term goal of mine.)
And yet, in that setting, there has to be a dynamic balance between 'these are the specifics of the tradition and practices I value and want to do' (i.e. there's stuff bigger than me I don't get to change on a whim), and 'if I want to do them with other people, I don't get to have everything exactly my way' and 'but if I'm hosting in my home (as is common in small Pagan groups), then there's a bunch of practical things I get to decide on, because My House'. Which is to say, it gets a little complicated.
Plus the whole part about 'if I'm going to put energy and attention into this on a regular basis, it needs to be something I find enjoyable, or I won't manage to do it in the bad weeks, or will resent the fact it stops me doing things I enjoy in the bad weeks'.
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Re: Growing the communities we yearn for
Date: 2013-07-26 12:58 pm (UTC)(For people who don't know, I'm a priestess in an initiatory religious witchcraft tradition: Wicca is a close enough first approximation. I haven't done much teaching or any group work since I moved to Maine, but it's a long-term goal of mine.)
And yet, in that setting, there has to be a dynamic balance between 'these are the specifics of the tradition and practices I value and want to do' (i.e. there's stuff bigger than me I don't get to change on a whim), and 'if I want to do them with other people, I don't get to have everything exactly my way' and 'but if I'm hosting in my home (as is common in small Pagan groups), then there's a bunch of practical things I get to decide on, because My House'. Which is to say, it gets a little complicated.
Plus the whole part about 'if I'm going to put energy and attention into this on a regular basis, it needs to be something I find enjoyable, or I won't manage to do it in the bad weeks, or will resent the fact it stops me doing things I enjoy in the bad weeks'.