Queridos hermanosWhen in S
pain… This year’s European Elder Gathering (EEG) was held in Alicante, Spain – and I was there. In reality the whole event should not have worked as well as it did, but it was a huge success and thoroughly enjoyable.
I arrived a day early and that helped me settle in and enjoy a leisurely dinner with MKP brothers Bruno Goffin (our EEG host) and Norbert Hesslinger, who had also arrived early from Germany.
Alicante had been chosen as the location for the EEG to support Bruno who has been doing an amazing job in leading a men’s circle there. The intention was to help Bruno strengthen the foundations of his vision for an MKP community in Spain. He has been working on this for the last four years and he would be the first to say that it has been challenging.
Bruno, who was initiated in South Africa in June 2006, is also registered as a member of our MKPUK&I Elder Circle. Knowing of Bruno’s endeavors, Simon Hinkly proposed Alicante as the EEG location to support him and the men in his Spanish circle. Men travelled from other parts of Spain, from France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, America and the UK.
There were so many variables in this event that could have caused it to fail. Bruno is the only man in his circle who has done the NWTA, and so there was limited familiarity with MKP language and protocols. Many of the men in this Alicante circle are well under the age of 50 and so unfamiliar with being in an elder group. Two friends of Nester Kornblum, the co-owner of the retreat center, joined us on the second morning; neither had been in a men’s group before let alone an MKP circle and yet they fitted in perfectly. Check-ins, presentations and discussions all had to be translated simultaneously into four different languages. And despite the comings and goings of local men with a different concept of time the container expanded and contracted to accommodate all the ebbs and flows of the four days.
And all these challenges were overcome with patience, tolerance, grace and good humour. Men opened their hearts to each other, new friendships were formed, existing bonds strengthened, wounds healed and new ideas given birth. Not just for the Spanish brothers but also for the wider European Elder community.
And the final and most amazing gift of all was the arrival of 12year old Jordi Xavier Lara who, at his own request, had asked his father Carlos if he could join the gathering. Not only did Jordi sit in and participate in all the sessions and discussions over the four days - apart from the one on Sexuality - he listened intently, checked-in when his turn came and chatted with everyone with childlike wisdom and enthusiasm. The final morning began with Bruno giving an elder blessing and then Jordi stepped into the center of the circle, and in both Spanish and English, gave us this blessing. “I bless you men for coming from other countries and thank you for coming to us. I did not expect this. Thank you.”
Jordi is, I am sure, a wise old soul in a young boy’s body, and we were well and truly blessed by his presence. And I came home feeling inspired and full of joy.
Animal Name Change
Finding it difficult to pronounce my given Irish name of ‘Diarmaid’ the group happily converted it into ‘Diamond’ and this somehow got converted into ‘Diamond Geezer’. As a result I have let go of my previous animal name of ’Powerful Regal Lion’ and have adopted a new one.
Diarmaid Fitzpatrick - Diamond Geezer
