Note: Today’s post comes from coach & survivalist, Cedric Clitheroe. I had the opportunity to catch up with him and chat about tribes in Sisters, OR. I was completely drawn in by what he was saying and asked if he’d share that with you. I’m honored that he agreed.
Tribe:
The word is buzzing around like a persistent dragon fly. Beautiful and unique, but a bit too demanding. It’s in social media, casual conversation, and big brand advertising. But tribe isn’t what the buzzword craze has spun it out to be. It’s not a simple synonym for “group” or “friends”. It’s not far off to say that the meaning has been lost. Some folks seem to have it figured out… but many seem to be lost at the difference between what it means to be a part of a Tribe, and what it means to be in “the club”.
Historically, Tribe was a group of people represented by a village. A community that lived together, worked together, and survived together. If everyone were the same, the village would have failed. Hybrid systems are stronger, and a Tribe is a system of people.
Tribe isn’t about uniformity. It’s about diversity.
Tribe isn’t about appeasement; it’s about authenticity.
Tribe isn’t about conformity; it’s about individual integrity.
One of my favorite philosophers, Alan Watts, once said, “The one implies the many, and the many implies the one… All the variety in front of you… means one. The more different everything is, the more it proclaims its basic unity with everything else….”
This is a profound wisdom. This is an awareness lost on nike and not accounted for in a world where we no longer survive together as a village. But there’s some powerful value in relearning old ways. Opening up the concept in a way we can use it now, Tribe is a collection of people shining their true selves and skills; true unity through variety, together. And this is why the buzzword has taken full force. This is the spark that pulls us in while we’re thinking of our friends and our Instagram followers.
This is why ‘tribe’ grabs at the strings of our souls.
We know, on an instinctual level, that a tribe is what we’re after; that this is what we want. The trick of course, is getting it. The trick is finding Tribe in its truest form, instead of the one that marketing will spin. A tribe has a hunter, a homesteader, a baker, and a builder. A tribe has a web designer, a marketing specialist, a photographer, a craftsman, and a manager. A tribe has a coffee shop owner, a carpenter, and a painter. It’s a subtle difference: if you’re a builder, it’s good to know builders. If you’re a marketing specialist, it’s good to have marketing friends. But these aren’t the soulful relationships of a tribe on their own. Add a bit of diversity, a bit of human spice, and something magic happens.
With authentic individuals coming together as a Tribe, the power to reach outward and upward is grown exponentially; the ability to connect and support others is made potent and powerful.
And so, like a child learning to climb a tree -something we remember in a faint ancestral memory- society is making playful grabs at what it means to be a Tribe. I’m pleased to see this rediscovery. I’m pleased to see a people exploring the unity that we once held as a mark of our species.
I’m excited to see the truth about Tribe rise up from under all the commercialism that has taken it for a ride. I’m patiently excited for you as you know Tribe, lovingly anticipating my own.
Cedric Clitheroe is one of those old-world wilderness rangers living in modern times, making his way in the world as a coach, jeweler, writer, and guide, but most often you’ll find him wandering the wilderness. You can find more of Cedric on his website or connect with him on Facebook.
