What’s the safest # of people to gather during a pandemic? One. What’s the second best #?

It’s two. Two is a great number of people for gathering. It’s the best way we can give each other the attention we deserve. We can go deep with each other. We can get bored with each other. We can play games, catch up, and stop when we’re done. We can easily physically distance.

I’m going to make a list of things that can be done by 2 people. Feel free to share your favorites in the comments below. Riding bikes? Playing music? Walking? Sitting on a bench and talking. If you can do much of that outside and wear masks when it makes sense – it’s the easiest dance to do besides the one with yourself. And if it’s hard, slow it all way down and ask the other person for help. That’s the point of this article – can you figure out ways to add in more one-on-one gatherings in your life?  I think I have some ideas here that can make our experience of quarantining easier and perhaps richer.

So, let’s say one was feeling lonely sometimes. Like me. I used to spend much of my life either arranging gatherings or attending them. I’m someone who went to 8+ music festivals a Summer and loved hosting shabbat gatherings at my house when I wasn’t organizing house concerts or other meet-ups. Show me an interesting gathering and I am there and will possibly help organize and promote it along the way. I organized in-person classes on social media marketing from 2008 until 2 years ago all over Portland, Seattle, and the nearby regions. Howdy Boise! Anyway, all that to say this pandemic has put a crimp in my style.

That said, I’ve been following the work of Jan Keck who I met at the World Domination Summit in 2018 and then hosted his Campfire Conversations last Summer in our backyard. Just north of the cul-de-sac.

Jan has been teaching people how to Ask Deep Questions. These days he’s continuing to trailblaze and show people how to make Zoom meetings and virtual events more fun and meaningful. He’s a fantastic teacher and person and has a great following of people who are learning from him. On this note I’m hosting Caelan Huntress from NZ who will lead an event full of fun games you can play on Zoom on August 19th @ 2:30pm PST – come join us. He led this event during the recent World Domination Summit (WDS) weekend and it was the hit of my weekend. These are ways to make online meetings and interactions more fun and potentially deep.

Back to the point of this missive. Are you missing parties? What are parties? They are often a series of one on one interactions. Sometimes with a small group. So, take my premise above and add it on the the series like nature of your average party experience and boom – you have your social life back again. Maybe even in a richer way.

If you would like to be a guinea pig in my experiment – ie, you would like to spend time with me – we’ll start with an hour – preferably in SE Portland or somewhere I can bike to. We’ll sit far apart. We’ll do this outside in a park, on a porch or some other spot that makes sense.

Easiest way to begin would be to set up an appt. with me on my calendar – but you can also just reach out via email and we’ll take it from there. albert@albertideation.com

This idea is not just for me. Please, if you find value in what I’m suggesting, feel free to try it out yourself or share Rough Notes from the Cul-de-sac with others on social media.

Albert

PS – More on Vitamin T and getting your touch needs met during these times, here.