Alt Wed notice for 3 April -

The Alt Wed Group is meeting at the cafe called "Saturdays" which is in New Brighton on Wednesday 3 April at 10am ish.

Alt Wed is a relatively new name ... but it is no more than a follow on from the Traditions of the original 7Up and the Flourishing Zoom meetings - we aim to have meaningful, ongoing conversations about issues of current concern to Seven Plus and its members. 

The conversations this week are likely to include ...

•  Discussion about ... 
• Judy Bailey and ikigai
  

• Several of us have found "ikigai" in areas that are not closely linked to Seven Plus - perhaps it is time we paid attention to these?  Might we support each other more around our pet projects? 
  

• Networking for Wellbeing is working toward clarifying its "Purposes, Activities and Values"   
• Really briefly - aren't they all about finding purpose through activities and conversations that are in line with our values - working for the social good?  For our own mental health, our collective wellbeing, and our support of social justice and the wellbeing of our Nation and the planet?
• And aren't they the same for Seven Plus - it's just that 7+ has a focus on transitions and concerns around wellbeing as we age?   
• And - question - is the success of MeetUps to do with the fact that the kinds of conversations we have are to do with social concerns? 
  

• And other stuff ... just whatever comes up - pet projects - progress around Ian's transitions65 project? - support for the "Learning Christchurch event at WEA" on 18 May? - Flourishers supporting Flourishing?  - other threads?
  

You are all welcome to Alt Wed -

Networks and groups - what is the difference?

The following  quotation was referenced by Doug Belshaw and may originally  have been George Siemens' reference to work by Stephen Downes - the link provided by Belshaw no longer and I've not yet tried a wider search.

‘Groups require unity, networks require diversity. Groups require coherence, networks require autonomy. Groups require privacy or segregation, networks require openness. Groups require focus of voice, networks require interaction.’

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Alt Wed - 20 March 2024

The tiny text was sent out before the meeting - it is no longer helpful

 Alt Wed - threads, topics and themes

If anyone would like to pop in some thoughts about how Alt Wed might develop, or what we might like to talk about, please add them as a comment.   

Seven Plus and Elaine have added comments.  Click on Comments (below) to find them! Others might add comments after the session (or before if you randomly find this opportunity is here).   

What thread, topic or theme would you like to talk about more? 

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After the meeting - Here's an update from Elaine:

 

(1) Who belongs to Alt Wed? (ie who is on the mailing list)

The Alt Wed label (which is what I used to call  the mailing list) includes the following ...

Lynne, Elaine, Ian, Carolyn who met at Saturdays in Brighton on 20/03/24

Apologies from Russ, Kevin, Tony, Karen. 

Permanent apologies from f2f - from Niki/Tim, Beth, Bron. 

 

(2) There is now a description of Alt Wed in the "About our networks" box in the left of the blog.  

You might like to check it out - or not - it contains some suggestions that have not yet been explored widely - but will emerge over time.  I have used green to highlight the suggestions.   for example, here is a suggested description for Alt Wed: 

Alt Wed sessions are where the interests arising anywhere within Seven Plus can be explored.  This means that ideas that emerge as important can come into focus and can be shared more widely.  The ideas can spark conversations outside the Alt Wed meeting.    

Are you happy with that?  The first reactions I got was from Niki -  "I thought that is what we are doing."  

I'm hoping we can use the blog to let those who cannot attend Alt Wed to be part of the ongoing process of strengthening and developing 7+ as a network. 

 

(3) About the chat on 20/03: 

• The main discussion arose naturally from a comment about "Fight or Flight" - the result was a conversation about five Fs - 
• fight, 
• flight,
• freeze
  
• fawn (placate)
• flock (collaborate)
• That led to discussion around strategies of collaboration - problem solving, mediation etc.  - and the idea that a number of differing perspectives of an issue arise - sharing strategies can lead to a team making decisions about a "final solution" (agreed strategies for moving forward)
• We then talked about: 
• the Seven Plus network needing a clear "purpose" - and "values" - (and Lynne and Elaine added in "actions" in the car on the way home)
• The original purpose of 7Up being related to the transitions around retirement - should that remain our central focus?  We notice that 7+ has begun to explore other things. 
  
• Ian explained an initiative he and Beth are working on - related to the transitions to retirement - perhaps we could make this a focus of conversation in the next Alt Wed?  With the idea that it is something 7+ would support for sure.  **
• We worked on the idea that 7+ is a place where "like-minded people take and active interested in social issues" - and then we figured that we are not necessarily like-minded - but we all support the purposes, values and activities that we are gradually figuring out. 

(4)  After thoughts - for future conversation (or not)

• Looking ahead .. When Seven Plus is clear about these things, it will be easier to enable people who are interested in joining any of the networks within N4W to figure out how these networks are built on friendship and trust and shared values, purposes, and actions.  
  

• Looking ahead - we need to figure out how we use labels in 7+
• A label is effectively a mailing list - people with the label get the notification of what is happening. 
• Suggestion - members of 7+ may invite others to 7+ events on the understanding that they are visitors.  And, when they know enough about the values, purposes and actions (VAP? PAV?) of various networks and groups within N4W they can seek (ask for) for a label to join ones where they have developed friendships and trust  about the VAP. 
  
• Any group or network within N4W controls its own labels.  For example there are 11 people with the Alt Wed label.  We can add or delete as we see fit - basically on request from with a 7+ label.
  

• Next fortnights ..   Just a thought - 
• might we make Ian/Beth's initiative around retirement be a topic for discussion next fortnight? - 
• Might we talk about other initiatives people are working on over time - eg - the Iona Project in Aranui, the Learning City Project through WEA in May - or a focus on fitness.  It could be that this is a way of "acting" to supporting initiatives - simply hearing about them and sharing ideas and getting involved in practical ways when we share an interest.  Might taking an interest in initiatives become a key aspect of 7+ action?
  

•  How about we meet at Saturdays in Brighton again next fortnight? 
  

• Once Alt Wed has a pattern established it will not be necessary to write this kind of record of notes and ideas. We will have gotten into a pattern where ideas are spread naturally.  Much of this writing is because I have been grappling with ideas around how to enable membership to become a simple, routine process AND where groups of networks spin off our regular activities in ways that are purposeful and effective.  This is part of the vision of the emerging N4W movement.

FF Update on technology

 Liz, Devon and Elaine met at South Library and explored use of cell phones and gmail.  

We chose the 2pm on a Friday time slot. We might do similar on the second Friday of next month. 

The Flourishing Group will meet on the fourth Friday from April onward. 

Fridays at 2pm seem to be a good time for people to meet - this is a First Friday network - open meeting on the First Friday, technology on the second and Flourishing on 4th.

Alt Wed - Wed 6 March - threads and topics

As per the email we are having a Walking meeting at New Brighton tomorrow.  Here are some quick notes on possible topics. 

 (1) Ian's email about a reading that might interest us .. 

The article is about retirement planning -  what interested Elaine in particular was the way it distinguished between complication and complexity.  This distinction is a really important for understanding the modern world.  Whether or not you read the article it is worth sorting out this idea.  N4W is based on the idea that we live in a complex world - and/but lots of the stuff we do is based on the idea that we live in a complicated world - stuff like conspiracy theories rely on this distinction. 

(2) Mental health The link to the discussion between Jack Tame and Matt Doocey is here.  Doocey is the first ever Minister of Mental Health. I recall a couple of points from the interview - but there were more.  I remember (a) the idea that there could be access to mental health through a call to 111 and (b) that one way of accessing more support for lack of specialists is to find pathways for bachelor level graduates in psychology to work in this field (only about 80 can move on to become clinical psychologists and we need 300ish) - this is waffle from Elaine - I can see that short courses in "supporting others" could be relevant to the entire community - andled by people who have resources available to them - the equivalent of Flourishing for everyone. 

(3) Our survey about MeetUps: The summary is sitting in this blog - it is the following post.  This survey shows that MeetUps are highly successful.  I was interested in reading them from the point of view of what was missing.  Whatever is missing needs to be a strength of Alt Wed.  Meaningful, ongoing conversations are needed within Seven Plus - we must recreate the Wednesday session that we used to call Zoom as something that is easy to take part in, and is attractive and active and interesting.  The conversations need to be accessible to everyone in Sewven Plus - they are too important to cut out people who have conflicting responsibilities.  Hence Alt Wed.  How do we want it to be seen in a year's time?  And how do we get there?  And how do we continue to use Zoom and the Blog to help this to happen? 

(4) About Topics and Threads - the blog will help us clarify all this.   Do we have an interest in the politics of the day?  It might arise on an Alt Wed?

Technical notes -

• About access to the blog:  I got into the dashboard  to write this post through the sevenplus g mail account - it I had gone in through my own account it would have come from me. 
• The dashboard is where you write new posts for a blog and do various other things - the administrator can alter anything on the blog from here.  There is a list of things you can do on the left side - the bottom option is to go to the blog itself.
• A post is the name given to a fresh entry in the blog - it always gets to the top of the central column (unless you alter the published on date on the right column in the dashboard). 
• About a gmail account:  Every gmail account has access to all sorts ot things as well as gmail.  If you do not know about this them checkout the nine wee dots beside your account icon/image/picture on the right of your gmail.  You have access to heaps of stuff.  (what is the technical language for these thingies?)
   

• About the links within point (1).   This is the first time I have tried adding the url to an email - I have also asked it to open the link in a new window.  And I did the same with the second link to the actual article. 
• About Q and A on You Tube - As I understand it, the link is to the whole episode from 3 March.  It is live for four weeks.  After that, I suspect interviews can always be found from the Q and A on You Tube.  
• About technical notes: As with most of the theories that I (Elaine) have about how the world of technology works, these ideas are tentative - I can only become confident by constantly testing out ideas - I really value the fact that I can jot down my issues here within footnotes in this blog - it is a tool for my learning - and also for anyone else who chooses to play this game. Anything with the label of techie notes has this kind of observation or question or tentative understanding. - We can gradually tidy them up. 
• Understanding labels.  The blog will need to consolidate its labels. but meantime, anything goes.