Jim White
Welcome to a community of men! I often hear that phrase used when welcoming new brothers, or men who have completed the New Warrior Training Adventure. I am aware that the word “community” has as many meanings as the many men who say it. It also has as many expectations as the many ears that hear it. I am wondering if there is a base description of community on which we can agree?
I am reading The Eden Project by James Hollis and he states: “A community forms when the members of a society have had a common transcendent experience, one that lifts each person out of his or her isolation to participate in transformation. Each person remains an individual, but each is also now identified psychologically with the transcendent experience; each is more than he or she was previously.”
I believe this is a powerful description of many men’s experience of a NWTA, mine included. Using the NWTA as a base, I can agree with our having created a community of men.
I came away with a new way of being a man, thus a sense of transformation. I am no longer in isolation – having had a similar experience to thousands of other men. I maintain my own identity as an individual and I am part of a larger group of Warrior Brothers. I have traveled the globe and met other brothers, connecting easily due to our shared experience.
For me, this basic community is a blessing. Does this resonate with you and some of your experiences?
Is there community beyond this? I believe each man can establish a larger community for himself. Do you have an Integration Group and have you created friendships with these men? Has any local MKP gathering found you engaged with other brothers? Have you attended local, national, and international MKP board meetings and conferences? When was the last time you staffed a NWTA weekend? Have any Elder meetings, Lodge Keeper Society events, Leader track meetings and multicultural gatherings attracted your participation?
The challenge for me is to include these many MKP possibilities within the fullness of other activities in my life. That said, I hope you find ways to connect with our community of men. Maybe I will see you at the 25-year celebration in October.
Jim White
MKP Colorado
USA-Executive Team
