We recently hosted the Praxis Reading Weekend at La Serna. I am hoping this is the beginning of all sorts of interesting things that La Serna could play host to. One of the participants, Chris Riley found it very thought provoking and had this to say about it. I am thrilled. As you would be.
Even though I knew it would work in some way, I was still pleased about how it worked and how easily.
‘Read between meals, talk over meals’ seemed to be enough structure of the right kind to engage people and I was fascinated to see how the books wove their way into the conversations, even though we didn’t ask about them specifically. Since people picked up different books according to what others had said about them, the whole thing became remarkably interconnected in surprising ways and over time the conversations became deeper and broader, and the group became quite happy with the kind of silence that illuminates talk.
It reminds me of something Zidane, the footballer once said “Sometimes, magic is almost nothing”.
Of course we had some great advantages – a wonderful group of people happy to take whatever adventure came and an extraordinary place. I also know from experience with Parenthesis that Fidel’s food can work magic on people. So it isn’t nothing, even if its ‘almost’ nothing. But it certainly need not be complicated or as hard for people to come together an enrich each other on many levels. And I have a hunch this is just a beginning….
