A weakness of ambitious and creative humans is their seeming inability to be worthless. Even our hobbies are labeled and tracked on score cards and fantasy leagues. When it comes time to finally relax, your phone and brain maintain a constant bell ringing of “things you can’t forget to do”.
Sitting in community and enjoying interesting conversations about fascinating topics is a lost art.
“We are awash in numbers. Data is everywhere. Unquantifiable arenas like history, literature, religion and the arts are receding from public life, replaced by technology, statistics and math. Even the most elemental form of communication, the story, is being pushed aside by the list.” – Bruce Feiler, The New York Times May 16, 2014
We’re working to put a stop to that with a revival of Gatherings of the Worthless Bastards.
What does it mean to be Worthless?
My friend, Tom Grimes said it best, “It can involve engaging conversations or it can be a big swath of quiet as you take in the world and simply watch. It always involves laughter. It always involves exploring but it never requires an agenda. It’s adults at play. Everyone is on the same level … all bastards, no titles, no prima donnas, no one has rank, no one is in charge. It really just needs two things … a few friends and a little time. Time to not DO ANYTHING … at least not do work or anything related to work.
There are only three rules for being worthless:
- If you have a good story, tell it!
Funny stories of personal experience are encouraged. Discussions often wander in and out of the arts: Music, Film, Literature, Painting, Photography, Good Food, Drink, Sculpture, Gardening, Poetry, History, Psychology, Culture, Travel, “Seen any good movies lately?” or we may tumble into talking about an interesting discovery in science. The conversation can go anywhere. You’re free to talk about anything that fascinates you, intrigues you or impresses you, except: - There is to be no discussion of business, politics, sports or work.
- These are not counseling sessions.
Leave your problems at home. Leave your business cards at home. Leave your plans and goals and objectives at home. Bring only your curiosity and a desire to unwind.
We’re going to start hosting them again at Wizard Academy.
Our first one is Friday, September 6th at 4pm and we’ll gather at the Wizard’s Tower.
This is us sounding the siren. If you want to incorporate a bit of intentional worthlessness in your life by hosting your own gathering, let us know. We’ll post your dates on our site. We only ask that you host it somewhere anyone can join, and that you hold it on a predictable schedule.
Click here to let us know and announce your first one.
Daniel Whittington – Chancellor
