Frolic Like the Amish

Gather your community for a work project that’s fun

Photo by Randy Fath@Unsplash

Our Sovereign Beings group is like a living, breathing library. With backgrounds in education, religion, banking, engineering, law, military, medicine, farming and more, our diverse members have access to decades of knowledge and experience. As conversations veer off in many directions, we are each able to quickly gain a wide breadth of knowledge by sharing wisdom from our individual areas of expertise. When I asked our friend Kelly what she thought the diverse Sovereign Beings all had in common, she didn’t hesitate before responding, They all seek the truth, she said. At our potluck get-togethers and weekly zoom calls, we feast on a smorgasbord of informed perspectives, and challenge each other when we hear a statement that seems out of alignment.

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.~ Arthur Schopenhauer

Sovereign Beings research heavily and have gotten to the bottom of a lot of truth that others may ridicule or even violently oppose. It can feel like carrying a burden when you know unspeakable truths, but by collaborating with others of like mind, we’ve discovered that it somehow lightens the load and bonds us together as an independent society-within-a-society. Our intention to share truth and be the change we wish to see in the world inspires us to combine our wisdom, knowledge and power to build self-sustaining structures that promote sovereignty.

An independent society is not dependent on official channels of communication, or on the hierarchy of values of the establishment. The independent society does not compete for power. Its aim is not to replace the powers that be with power of another kind, but rather under this power--or beside it--to create structures that respect other laws and in which the voice of the ruling power is heard only as an insignificant echo from a world that is organized in an entirely different way.~ Ivan Jirous

Parallel societies are organized by members whose values do not align with the mainstream. A parallel society many are familiar with is the Amish community. Their core value is their faith, which is expressed in everything they do. Living a simple unworldly life in a chaotic world, the Amish rely exclusively on their faith, family and community to overcome daily challenges. They live in this world, but are definitely not of this world. They reject modern technology, yet find a way to live and work peacefully and productively beside other members of a tech-addicted society.

A barn raising is an iconic symbol of Amish values of community and hard work. Known as a frolic, a work event that combines socializing with a practical goal, a barn raising fulfills a practical need and also serves to tie the Amish community together. A frolic reinforces the values of Amish society through a very visible expression of the principle of mutual aid. When newlyweds need a barn, or someone’s barn burns down, watch as 30 men raise that new barn in ten hours:

Time lapse: Building an Amish barn took only 10 hours for 30 men in Clinton, WI

A barn raising is a showcase of Amish planning, organization, and manual labor. They tap into the social capital and goodwill in the community, mobilize labor and come together to erect a building which serves as a practical linchpin of their agriculturally-rooted communities. Their parallel society enables them to function independent of the dominant culture. We Sovereign Beings do not reject technology, but do find ourselves out of alignment with prevailing trends we track in the world. We take inspiration from the Amish, and are applying our talents to build a parallel structure that aligns with our values. We’re still hammering out the details, so stay tuned for an announcement when you can come and visit us at our “barn.” Meanwhile, enjoy the practical wisdom of the Amish, and if you’re so inspired, organize a frolic in your community.

Amish Wisdom

• Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you are not willing to move your feet.

• Excuses are the nails that hold together the house of failure.

• A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains.

• Many things have been opened by mistake, but none so frequently as the mouth.

• A small leak will sink a large ship.

• Bend the branch while it is young.

• Better to let them wonder why you didn't speak than to wonder why you did.

• Burying your talents is a grave mistake.

• Cooks and bakers know the secret to a good day is patience.

• Forgiveness withheld is like drinking poison and waiting for the offender to die.

• He who strikes the first blow confesses that he has run out of ideas.

• Mentioning the faults of others does not rid us of our own.

• Patience is accepting a difficult situation, without giving God a deadline to remove it.

• The steam that blows the whistle can't be used to turn the wheels.

• Three are too many to keep a secret.

• Throw mud and you will have dirty hands, whether the mud hits the mark or not.

• To return good for good is human, to return good for evil is divine.

• Trouble is easier to get into than out of.

• We are seldom aware of what's cooking until the pot boils over.

• What we are when we are old is what we learned when we were young.

• When a person slaps you on the back, he may be trying to help you swallow something.

• When it comes to doing things for others, some people stop at nothing.

• A man cannot be robbed of his learning.

• You can never tell where the trouble lies.

• You can’t make good hay from poor grass.

• You shouldn't worry if you don't know all the answers—you probably won't be asked all the questions.

• A person wrapped up in himself makes a very small package.

• A plant needs roots to grow. A person needs growth in order to have roots.

• A rainbow in the west brings six more weeks of rest.

• A snowflake is winter’s butterfly.

• A wet and cool May brings much grains and hay.

• Anger is a front put up by a weak man.

• Answers that sound good aren't necessarily sound answers.

• Despite inflation, a penny for some people’s thoughts is still a fair price.

• Discernment is understanding the deeper reasons why things happen.