Poly discussion group

PF-

The second meeting of the Vancouver Poly Discussion Group was this past week. What a trip! There were a total of 28 people here, which is the biggest session I've seen thus far of it's type. Even more exciting was that there were a number of newbies that expressed interest. I was able to help them find the Portland group, which is a bit more geared towards less complex issues, and it looks like they will have a full house tomorrow evening at that group!

I was very pleased to find great depth in the experience levels, different relationship configurations, and also age groups represented within the participants. The conversation was rather lively, and we could have continued for quite some time working with the topics selected for the evening.

There have been many times in my life that positions of leadership have presented themselves. Every so often, I've taken the lead, but more often, I've avoided being part of a group or community to escape being in a leadership role. This is really the first time I've stepped forward, of my own volition, to create, implement, and invest in, a place that involves being a leader.

The poly community is so highly varied, and I know that my way of doing things won't be for everyone, but I am very pleased that those participating in this group so far have seen what I am doing and appreciate where it's coming from. Moving the conversation along a more structured pathway is a bit of a challenge! Learning how to herd cats is a skill I'm going to cultivate! ;)

The depth of experience that is represented by the participants in this group is humbling. I'd say about half of them have 10+ years of open/poly relationship living to draw from. It greatly enhances the richness of the conversation to have so many practical perspectives of a given issue to learn from. Chewing old soup gets tiresome after a while, so seeing a new angle to approach something from is invaluable to me, and I hope that those participating in this process are getting some fresh ideas to work with as well.