Each edition contains the latest from the Grokkist Press, a roundup of events and highlights from our community, and a care package of snackable outside links selected to nourish your curiosity.
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Hey friends,
Two years ago I registered Grokkist as a company, with a name and some clear intentions but without much of a plan.
It turns out I was coddiwompling – setting out to travel purposefully towards a vague destination.
I didn't know the word 'coddiwomple' at the time. It's one of many delightful concepts and phrases I've picked up from the many weird and wonderful people I've met so far on this journey.
Fast forward to today and there's a lot more activity going on and some semblance of order to it all. As one member of our community put it vividly the other day, "I don't know how you guys manage to produce so much high-quality sh*t."
I can only say in reply that we are still coddiwompling, only moreso.
My experience with starting Grokkist has been what anyone who takes a big step into the unknown will tell you – it has completely turned my life-upside down and I wish I'd done it sooner.
To mark our 2nd birthday, we are throwing a celebratory Town Hall event at the end of this month where our team will reflect on the journey so far, we'll hear some stories from our members on what Grokkist means to them, and we'll have an open discussion on how we want to keep coddiwompling from here.
Hope to see some of you there. Meanwhile, last call to join my Find Your Red Thread Course starting in a few days...
Grok on!
- Danu
This edition at a glance:
- Press:
- Liberalism and the Politics of Getting Rid of Politics (Danu Poyner)
- Network:
- Featured Events: Celebrating 2 years of Grokkist! | Town Hall Event and Balancing Commitments | Further Together Forum
- Snackables:
- Vincent van Gogh and Frida Kahlo learn modern content strategy
- The revolution will be caring
- Filmmakers' first impressions of Sora for AI filmmaking
- "Unselfing" and how to behold the world with a just and loving gaze
- 17th century death roulette
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From the Grokkist Press
Articles, videos, podcasts and other creations
Liberalism and the politics of getting rid of politics
by Danu Poyner (29 min read)
Liberalism nobly attempts to transcend the messiness of politics through a reliance on law and a vision of universal principles. But in its pursuit of a rational and conflict-free societal order, does liberalism undermine the political agency and ethical discourse necessary for a vibrant democracy?
From the Grokkist Network
Events and updates from our community
Community updates and highlights
Highlights from the Grokkist Network
- The fourth cohort of our Ecosophy course wrapped up this week with another round of thoughtful and heartfelt project presentations as participants brought great clarity to articulating how to align their values with their actions. Recording available for current and past course participants.
- Full members can now access the recordings from our recent Free Your Mind With Neural Magic grassroots workshop and Elderhood: The Last Act lunch and learn.
- We've created a separate experimental 'Events Beyond Grokkist' feed to feature the stuff our members are offering and involved in outside our network.
- A roundup of our digital gardening efforts and improvements for March
Grokkable Courses
Find Your Red Thread
by Danu Poyner (5 week course starting 10 April)
Welcome to the Find Your Red Thread Course, where we gather to celebrate our squiggly stories, while making sense of them and ourselves.
Each workshop session is thoughtfully designed to address fundamental questions, guiding you to grasp your red thread and 'speak from the spool'. Topics include:
- What's your story?
- What do you want to be known for?
- How do you name your most sincere practice?
- What future are you stretching towards?
We'll also have plenty of thoughtful discussion and fun optional activities along the way, all of which will help guide your reflection as you build towards creating your own Red Thread visualisation.
Featured events and meetups
🟢 Free and open to all
🟣 Open to Full Members only (Grokling, Indie Grokker, Groksmith)
🟠 Free for Full Members. Suggested cover charge for free/non-members.
We are a global community – featured events listed below are shown in the host's timezone. For all other dates, add +1 day for Aus/NZ.
Celebrating 2 years of Grokkist! | Town Hall Event
🗓️ Tue 30 Apr | 7.30–9.30pm ET (view in your timezone)
Hosted by Grokkist Team
🟢 Free and open to all
It’s our second anniversary! Come celebrate the essence of being a grokkist with us at this Town Hall symposium of reflection, connection, and construction.
Whether you're stepping into the Grokkist community for the first time or have been a part of our journey from the beginning, this event is for you.
Together, let’s explore the core values and stories that define Grokkist's ethos of curiosity and care. Through shared reflections and personal anecdotes, we'll uncover the rich tapestry of experiences that shape our growing community.
But this symposium is more than mere retrospection of our past aspirations and achievements—it's an invitation to play a pivotal role in shaping Grokkist's future:
- What does being a part of Grokkist mean to you?
- How can Grokkist support your personal journey of growth, exploration and action?
- How can you contribute to nurturing our community as we continue to organically grow and develop?
Let's explore these questions and more as we co-create the distributed digital home that we dare to hope Grokkist can be. No matter who you are, how long you can stay, or how much or little you have to say, your presence will make a difference in this enriching evening of connection, fellowship, and growth.
Balancing Commitments | Further Together Forum
🗓️ Fri 19 Apr | 11am–1pm NZST (view in your timezone)
Hosted by Danu Poyner
🟣 Open to Full Members only (Grokling, Indie Grokker, Groksmith)
Are you spinning too many plates? Is there too much on your plate?
Is That Thing you just said ‘yes’ to going to move you closer to where you want to be or will it be a beautiful distraction? What if it’s a worthwhile distraction? How can you tell the difference? Is there a difference?
Is it that you need to get better at saying ‘no’? Or better at saying ‘yes’ to the right things?
Does your cup runneth over with worthwhile projects? Or do you find it hard to fill your own cup?
Is it sometimes hard just to find space to want what you want to want?
Come talk out the rest among friends who you don’t need to explain yourself to. Share your horror stories about balancing commitments. Discover yours aren’t even the worst. Reflect on what you actually want. Find some new and affirming ideas to consider.
Other Upcoming Events
- 9 Apr | 🟢 Red Thread Café
- 23 Apr | 🟢 Grok Café
- 25 Apr | 🟢 Grokkist Network Office Hours
🍬 Snackables
Assorted awesome links to nurture your curiosity
#1 - Vincent van Gogh and Frida Kahlo learn modern content strategy
Vincent van Gogh and Frida Kahlo receive client feedback on their paintings. "The client is super happy with the overall direction, they just have a few small suggestions". Sharp commentary on modern content strategy, ironically in service of an advertising competition for museums. "I'd love to hear how they want to solve my painting". Pairs well with the Sharp Suits website, where frustrated digital creatives turn their favourite client feedback into beautiful posters.
#2 - The revolution will be caring
Imani Radney
If we ever find ourselves in post-capitalist societies, what could approaches to care actually look like in those societies? A tour of radical ideas. “Believing in people, believing in care amid human conflict and messiness, is crucial to long-term political transformation.” If we can't change The System, we can always change how we relate to the other elements in the system, and that's how systems change.
#3 - Filmmakers' first impressions of Sora for AI filmmaking
A collection of short films made entirely with Sora, OpenAI's new generative AI model for video. The films themselves are gobsmacking, but most illuminating are the annotated comments from filmmakers about their thoughts on the model and the creative process. “Sora represents a real turning point for me as an artist whose scope has always been limited by imagination being at odds with means.”
#4 - "Unselfing" and how to behold the world with a just and loving gaze
Jack Maden
"Love is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real." A gentle walk – with examples – through Iris Murdoch's thought and the idea that attention, rather than action, is the path to moral progress. "Cultivating the right kind of attention builds up structures of value round about us, [so that] at crucial moments of choice most of the business of choosing is already over."
#5 - 17th century death roulette
Using real mortality records from London’s Dreadful Visitation, see what you might’ve died from in 1665. I did it three times and got Flux, Rickets and Griping in the Guts, respectively. One of dozens of charmingly silly time-wasters on the Whimsical Vole website, which also includes a Celeb Clock that shows what various celebrities are up to, a British Seaside Simulator, and a circle-swallowing game about Bokeh.
A parting thought...
“When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they’ll tell you.” ― Walter Payton
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