So, many of you are aware that I've had some challenges in my relationship to my peerage, that are mainly driven from my personal perspective that
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It's absolutely all right. If you don't take breaks you burn out and are useless to everyone. A time of reflection is necessary in life. Don't beat yourself up.
I guess I would tend to think of it more as taking a sabatic then achieving emeritus status. To me emeritus status implies you never intend to pick stuff up again.
But yes, I think healthy sustained play is an important part of being a peer. I look at it not so much as what can I accomplish in one year and more in terms of what can I accomplish in 5 years.
More clarity with sleephunrvogtMarch 28 2012, 13:10:20 UTC
I think the other portion of all of this is expectations subsequent to renown. As you become a different vintage of Peer, it's going to change your reputation among those who didn't know you "when".
Perpetual spent fowl, resting laurels, and nighty-knights get on my nerves when they expect respect equivalent to their actions at their zenith, when all I have seen from them in my SCA career is actions from an ebb cycle. Statements beginning with "well, in AS III we..." from someone who has no idea about what we are doing in AS 40+ only exacerbate the situation.
I do not mind the emeritus peers who wander through for an event of two a years and absorb and enjoy the game, but do not try to force an impact. Those who want to continue to impact and influence the game need to put forth more effort.
I want to make sure I'm understanding: it sounds like you are saying that a Peer's advice or input is only as valuable as the recent effort they have made. Why can't sharing what they know *be* the effort we expect from them?
A peer's advice and input *might* only be as valuable as how up to date they are in their field/current SCA practice.
A tee-tunic laurel from AS single digits who hasn't kept up with research in costuming probably has little to offer in terms of the latest thoughts on Elizabethean undergarments. He/she may have some good information on basic hand sewing techniques.
Having some idea of current political trends is useful if you are proposing a solution to them. Having a different or historic perspective can bring a great deal of value to the game if shared with care.
I have a doctorate in mammalian physiology. I can explain basic diseases of your dog. I can read an article on a horse disease and translate it in to English for you. I don't comment on the ideal chemotherapeutic regime for your cat with the adenocarcinoma as I have not kept up with me continuing education.
When one is representing oneself as an expert it really helps to know what you don't know.
Also depends on what one sees as slacking. learnteachMarch 28 2012, 04:06:49 UTC
I'm slacking in the SCA right now, mainly because I'm working an insane job. I'd like to train back to knightly fighting level, but I literally do not have the time to armor up and go to practice, and keep all the work commitments I have.
So, I'd better believe I still deserve the peerage when I return--or give it back. I choose to believe that I will be able to contribute when I return, and only play in the breaks between work.
At dinner last night, Steve and Kevin were talking about different people having different criteria for a chiv candidate being ready. Xander shared his opinion: loyalty to the group, and the king. Oh, and fighting. :)
I was at a similar crossroads some years ago, not too long after I turned 40, and the phrase I came up with at the time was "elder statesman". I always believed that being a peer meant that you had a job to do, but as we change the job has to change. That is, we don't need the same things, and don't have the same things to prove, at 40 or 50 as when we were 20 or 30. We have to find new roles to play.
I found I couldn't be the same kind of peer I had been, but also that I didn't want to. I began to find that there were contributions I could make that those who were younger couldn't. I'm sure that as you reassess your own situation, the path you need to take will present itself, as mine did.
I think it's essential, and that's largely borne of the observation that everything in the natural world flows in cycles and spirals. We only find linearity in the mineral world and the abstract idealism of human nature
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But yes, I think healthy sustained play is an important part of being a peer. I look at it not so much as what can I accomplish in one year and more in terms of what can I accomplish in 5 years.
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Perpetual spent fowl, resting laurels, and nighty-knights get on my nerves when they expect respect equivalent to their actions at their zenith, when all I have seen from them in my SCA career is actions from an ebb cycle. Statements beginning with "well, in AS III we..." from someone who has no idea about what we are doing in AS 40+ only exacerbate the situation.
I do not mind the emeritus peers who wander through for an event of two a years and absorb and enjoy the game, but do not try to force an impact. Those who want to continue to impact and influence the game need to put forth more effort.
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A tee-tunic laurel from AS single digits who hasn't kept up with research in costuming probably has little to offer in terms of the latest thoughts on Elizabethean undergarments. He/she may have some good information on basic hand sewing techniques.
Having some idea of current political trends is useful if you are proposing a solution to them. Having a different or historic perspective can bring a great deal of value to the game if shared with care.
I have a doctorate in mammalian physiology. I can explain basic diseases of your dog. I can read an article on a horse disease and translate it in to English for you. I don't comment on the ideal chemotherapeutic regime for your cat with the adenocarcinoma as I have not kept up with me continuing education.
When one is representing oneself as an expert it really helps to know what you don't know.
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So, I'd better believe I still deserve the peerage when I return--or give it back. I choose to believe that I will be able to contribute when I return, and only play in the breaks between work.
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I found I couldn't be the same kind of peer I had been, but also that I didn't want to. I began to find that there were contributions I could make that those who were younger couldn't. I'm sure that as you reassess your own situation, the path you need to take will present itself, as mine did.
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