What we’re about
- Please note that new members now need to pay their annual membership fee of $10 before having their membership application approved.
- you need to E-TRANSFER $10 to: [email protected]
- If you do not do any electronic banking then you need to find a friend who does and have them do it for you. Paying in cash at an event you attend complicates our accounting and record keeping. Just be sure to text 604-316-3007 and note that a payment from say JOE BLOW is for the membership of say JANE DOE, where that applies. Thank you.
This group is now 18 months old, is growing extremely fast and has 16 organizers. There’s something for everyone - older than 50 that is. That is why we are waiving any ‘trial period’ before payment is due.
————————-
Hello members, new and old,
Please take the time to read this carefully, it is important. This Meetup group is special not only in that it caters to a very specific age demographic, it is (although probably not unique) in its goals, somewhat atypical. The group seeks to encourage members to see the group as a place to take the first step toward building REAL actual friendships, those that exist separate from Meetup. In other words it is not only for fleeting encounters, or 'hit-and-run' social sessions leading to skin-deep relationships and acquaintanceships.
Many social studies show that the single biggest ingredient in overall human happiness is social connection, and in particular the quality of relationships, rather than quantity. We also know that there is a global pandemic of social isolation and that Metro Vancouver is particularly afflicted.
The word REAL speaks volumes in my opinion, and it also happens to be the opposite of the online or digital kind of artificial friendships. It so happens that each of the four letters in the word REAL can stand for important dimensions of real friendships.
- R is for RECIPROCAL.
Surely real friendships between two people are marked by reciprocity, of many kinds, but mostly both parties initiating contact with the other. It doesn't need to be 50-50 but if it's 90-10 then one or both parties might become resentful.
- E is for ENDURING.
It takes time to build real friendships and after substantial investment of time and emotion, do we not all want the friendship to last for a long time?
- A is for AUTHENTIC.
If somebody is only interested in keeping your company because they are getting something from you such as money, prestige/status, business networking or advice, or sex, that doesn't seem like a truly authentic friendship.
- L is for LOCAL.
The likelihood of a friendship developing in the first place is dramatically enhanced if these two hypothetical people live close enough to meet easily fairly often.
So that's the lie of the land folks, this is long enough so I will draw it to a close for now, but really it is also important to set out the FOUR FACTORS that I and others believe make for the most successful Meetup groups.
1. Having LOTS of events
2. In mostly SMALLER groups (5 to 9)
3. A WIDE VARIETY of events so the group has appeal to many different kinds of people
4. Events in MANY NEIGHBORHOODS to satisfy the L for LOCAL requirement set out earlier.
Love, peace, light. DB
-----------------------------------------------------------------
