[Ansteorra] Re: lifestyles - SCA as "reality" vs. "a hobby"

[Michael Tucker]

Good, thought provoking words, Bors and 'wolf.

Regarding the SCA as "reality" vs. "a hobby": it's true that the titles we may
be granted are meaningless outside this frame of reference. The offices we hold
are transitory, and whatever "power" folks think they have as a result of those
offices or titles is mostly illusory. I say "mostly", because although you don't
really have the power to command, you do have the power to do good or harm. And
that's where the line between "reality" and "fantasy/hobby" becomes blurred. The
friendships we make, the good we do (and the harm we do) are all real. The
people you interact with, their hopes and dreams, their joys and sorrows, are
just as real as anything. In a Zen sense, these feelings are *more* real than
the more transient physical "realities".

So, if someone does their best to "live the dream" or whatever you want to call
it, by whatever means (museum quality armor; period fighting styles; well made,
beautiful and functional garb; historically accurate music and dance; service to
others; acknowledging a blow well struck upon the field), then in a sense they
are contributing to and helping to create the "reality" I mentioned above. How
many people do you know (through the SCA) that you would hand your car keys,
jump up in the middle of the night to bail them out of a flood, pay their way
into an event (because you know they're good for it, or just because they're
your "kin") - all without any hesitation or equivocation, and without even
knowing their real name or where they live??? That's trust. That's real.

Fancy armor does not equal honor. A white belt or a coronet does not equal trust
or nobility. But they are symbols of those things, that help those who see them
(or wear them) remember the qualities they represent. Like a koan, or a hand
gesture, that helps you remember a Zen meditation or prayer state. Putting your
hands together does not equal prayer, it just reminds you of it and helps you
get there faster and easier the next time. Just so, putting on a white belt or
badge of office reminds you to be more honorable, noble and trustworthy than
society normally requires you to be. With practice, you no longer need the belt
or badge to remind you... you have evolved into a more noble, trustworty,
honorable person. And that's cool. And by living these ideals, by being a
living, breathing example of them, you help those around you evolve, too. And
that's *extremely* cool... and very real. :-)

(I'm not saying the belt, badge or coronet are required to get there, any more
than the knowledge of a particular koan is required to achieve inner peace. It's
just one way to get there.)

Hmmm... sorry, I've wandered fairly far afield. I suppose that's the nature of
discussing philosophy, though. Back on track:

I love this thing we do because in order for it to work, you have to be bigger
(more noble, whatever) than you are required to be in the modern world. You have
to rise above (or endure through) pettiness and vindictiveness. With reference
to the recent film, you have to be "Men of Honor". It tends to bring out the
best in us. It can also bring out the worst, and you just have to deal with that
when it happens. Sir Ricardo said he loved it because it gave him the same
adrenaline rush as live fire combat, and brought out the honor and trust and
nobility within us... but, at the end of the day, you were drinking with your
buddies instead of burying them.

Those feelings of trust and honor are real. In this way, the "dream" *is*
reality. You just have to remember that it doesn't pay the rent. :-)

If someone who doesn't see that wants to fart off those who do, that's their
right as long as they don't go out of their way to ruin or belittle it for the
others. But if all they want out of it is a chance to dress in funny clothes,
hit each other with sticks, get drunk, and be open about an otherwise closeted
life choice (sexual, religious, whatever), well... it saddens me because they're
missing out on something even more wonderful than that. And I would ask that
they not p*ss in my Wheaties just because they don't agree with my choice of
breakfast cereal. Public, blatant, deliberate attempts to destroy the ephemeral,
wonderful, *real* thing I've talked about, are just mean (or at best
thoughtless)... and are resented (and fairly so, IMO) by those who strive to
"live the dream".

My thoughts. Your turn. :-)

Yours,
Michael Silverhands

"Yeates, Jay" wrote:
>
> synchronicity at work ... self and V.SirSeanMF were discussing
> similar matters last night at our weekly bar meet, as they relate to
> SCA, pagan, and "other" similar sub-cultures ... and the one of the
> main questions we were mulling over was - when does a inclusive
> sub-culture evolve/devolve into a exclusive cult, and what is the
> mechanism for this ???
>
> onwards ....
>
> - -----Original Message-----
> From: ansteorra-admin at ansteorra.org
> [mailto:ansteorra-admin at ansteorra.org]On Behalf Of Baronman at aol.com
>
> * Baronman:
> * ... To many individuals within the SCA-this is their way of life.
> All their energies and devotion go into the SCA.  All of their
> societal values are wrapped up in the structure of the SCA.  The SCA
> is not a game to be PLAYED-but a way of life.  To these people the
> SCA is a career.  They live it, breathe it and love it.  They go to
> great length to be seen with the right SCA people.  They are always
> working for the Kingdom not for the awards but because the find all
> that they need within the SCA.
>
> Yeates:
>
> this is a particularly meaty subject that has some excellent
> discussion potential.  who will join me at the table for the feast
> (g)
>
> i ask a question to the rank & file, is this approach to the SCA,
> where it is 100% your world ... a healthy thing?  in my opinion (as
> is others of my circle) it is *not*.  remember one of the first
> lessons learned in any zen training - first and foremeost you must
> live in the world.  the SCA is not the world, to make it the world is
> a unhealthy escapist mindset.
>
> hobby and fantasy are fine adjuncts to reality, but if/when they
> become your reality, dosn't that begin to border on the textbook
> definitions of mental illness??? (or perhaps i've just dated too many
> psych professionals in my time ... grin)
>
> opinions / comments ????
>
> (note: along these lines ,... and last nights bar discussion, anyone
> got a URL for a "cult evaluation frame" - tool used to evaluate
> degrees of "cult-ness" ... can't find the ones i stashed away in the
> past)
>
> * Baronman:
> * ... So please don't fault these people who are so immersed in the
> SCA way of life. ... Please be tolerant and try to understand where
> these people are coming from.
>
> Yeates:
>
> that is definitely a two edged sword ... many have noted and
> commented on a marked increase these last few years in a level of
> rising intolerance of anyone who dosn't play the game 24/7, at the
> higest level possible (the more periiod than thou syndrome), enjoys
> the scadian world as a hobby/diversion, and/or has non-outside
> interests/obligations that they place in front of scadian ones.
>
> more tolerance is never a bad thing, but it has to come from both
> sides or it's meaningless.  unless it's unilateral, it often becomes
> a subtle weapon to enforce compliance to someone elses particular
> norms.  "raising the bar" (most common excuse given for these
> changes) is one thing, but to use it to club people over the head or
> enforce compliance is yet another
>
> 'wolf
> ... why do i sense a pending auto-de-fey, guess that's what happens
> when the subject of religion is broached (g) .... on the other hand,
> fire is good - it burns away the dead & diseased, tempers the
> healthy, and prepares the ground for new life.
>