Socrates Cafe

Last week I attended my first Socrates Cafe meeting with 5 other co-workers at a pizza joint near our office. A month ago I'd never heard of the Socrates Cafe and certainly didn't realize I'd enjoy debating topics like religion, politics, happiness, education and life's purpose with my coworkers! But I got a phone call inviting me to a meeting, and although I was completely intimidated by the intellect in the room I decided to give it a go. To quote Mark Twain:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

So I did. The first meeting was an invitation-only event: 2 women and 4 men aged 23 to forty-something, 3 different religious affiliations, 2 are married, 3 have kids, all at least hold a bachelor's degree, and we are all employed by the probation department. Week 1 question: Does God exist? This was an especially energetic exchange thanks to the atheist's viewpoints, not to mention one of our members has his master's in theology from Harvard! We only met for an hour, but I felt completely stimulated and was challenged to explore past my daily humdrum preoccupations. It was great, and I've been looking forward to our second meeting this Thursday...

WELL, evidently it was not meant to be. There was a big uproar at the office due the exclusive nature of the group, as well as the involvement of some senior staff admin staff. So everyone is feeling pressured to bow out. It pisses me off that other folks issues and insecurities have so quickly and completely dissolved the group that was providing me with the inspiration to more deeply explore my own beliefs and values. I don't think Socrates would be impressed with that logic.