North Star Wk 1 - Potential Energy

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Group Guide

We’re going to kick off the North Star series talking about “potential energy,” because it’s back-to-school time, and why wouldn’t we jump right into physics?? Where do we feel the tension of potential, and how might we chart a course forward as we participate in life, deeply woven?

WELCOME (10-15 mins)

  1. Begin by reading through the basics together.

  2. Share your name and…what brings you to this Group?

WARM UP

  • Name a favorite place! It could be within your home, your head or anywhere in the world!

  • Split into two groups - choose a simple song to sing to the other group! Happy birthday, do ray mi…. or a current fav you all know. CAVEAT…you have to STOP SINGING it at the most awkward, unresolved point you can! Practice secretly then share your unresolved songs.

DIG IN IDEAS

  1. Where do you see or experience the “stretched rubber band” feeling? In the world out there or close to home if you feel a little brave. Either one! Name a bunch of examples together.

    • Thought experiment! Bring to mind a picture of yourself with one of those stretched rubber bands - imagining the “potential energy” that might be building up. Those who are willing - share some of the things that came to mind.

    • Check out the quote at the bottom from Scientific American. And the questions below it. (Try not to peek ahead!)

  2. The North Star doesn’t tell you where to go. It helps you know where you are, which is pretty important if you want to know where to go next. Have you had actual times when you thought you knew where you were but you were wrong? What about times you felt completely lost and it turned out you weren’t as far away as you thought? Whether it’s the wilderness of a forest, a big body of water or a big city — talk about getting and feeling lost!

  3. What does a community like Fabric offer that can help you navigate the challenges (and the joys!) of being a human on a journey of your own?

    • Talk about specific things that have helped you feel and stay connected with Fabric (some examples we’ve heard: getting involved somehow, reaching out to someone between Sundays, inviting a friend, pre-deciding to be there on Sunday if you are in town, claiming the permission to not be there or explain your absence…)

CLOSE

  1. Share one thing you will take away from this time that you want to remember this week.

  2. Check in on plans for upcoming gatherings.  

NEXT MEETING DATE:                   

TIME:                                                         

WHO will coordinate, facilitate, provide hospitality or other needs:

Remember, anyone is welcome to serve the group in these and other ways. In fact, it is a way you will grow and connect!

“With a Little Help: The walk to and from school can’t be uphill both ways, but going it alone might make it seem that way. When judging the steepness of a hill, people overestimated its angle more when alone than when they were accompanied by—or even thinking about—a friend, reports an international group of researchers led by Simone Schnall of University of Plymouth in England in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology in May. The longer the volunteers had been friends with their companions, the less steep the hill seemed.”
— https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/illusions-of-steepness-and-height/

Did you first picture you and your rubber band alone or with others? How does your sense of potential shift, if at all, when you switch that? What else do you notice when you imagine you and your rubber band alone versus with others?