AMG or "Ah Miii Gawd”

The first meeting of the Albuquerque Masters group was amazing. I am still thinking out the title,  for the moment I call it the AMG-  which I think can  go either way because it is a little too close to “Ah Miii Gawd”! Like the valley girls used to say in the 80’s. 

When I lived in   Florida I was invited to a private Dominants group.  I was told that it was a big deal because I was a woman and that was rare. The group was a collection of about 4 other men, it only went for a month or so, and overall it seemed like no one really knew how to talk candidly. There felt to be a lot of bluster and one guy who really liked to hear himself talk. It was not a great experience, but one that I have kept in the back of my mind, as it had gotten me to thinking.

Is it possible to have a Masters group that is open, honest, and candid?

Is it possible to have a Masters group where we all recognize that everyone has something to learn and something to teach?

 Is it possible to have a Masters group that is welcoming to new people, and accepting to people whose ideas are different from many of ours? For example- Gore.

If you want to be cocky you can say sure it’s possible, anything is possible.  But is it reasonable? Masters are used to being heard, we are used to being listened to. We as a rule are used to being the ones that control or at the very least direct the conversation, so  a group  of people  with control  issues tends not to listen  very well.  

So I came into this with a few goals.

1) Everyone needs a chance to talk and have their comments or questions heard.

2) That people feel comfortable to talk about the reality of their M/s instead of the convoluted theories that people think it should be.

3) That people won’t get caught in one upping each other.

I also knew that a lot of these things were going to fall on me as the moderator. So at one point I just closed my eyes and said “ok let’s do this thing.”

We met at Page one and the woman that had the room were finishing late. The Masters group was very punctual and ready to go in so people started getting restless, but overall we held it together until we could get in and get comfortable.

I have to say that it was an amazing group of people;   everyone seemed really vested in each others thoughts and processes. There were a few tense times, but that is to be expected, and I really felt that everyone worked really hard to stay grounded, candid, and open. It was a joy to see Masters really listening to each other, and differing points of view being debated.

Also, because how the meeting was structured people had a chance to be heard   and that for me was huge, people were even asking each other, "does that answer your question?"

How cool is that!

So now I am working on next month, I am  so  glad to say that we have a few host houses set up-  than k you so much to Baby Bear and DT !!!!!!! So I am starting to prep for the BBQ and potluck training time of which I am really excited about.

I am also taking a moment to just sit and smile. 

It’s working. I can’t believe its working.