Should Elephant Gatherings continue?

Today, I hosted leading feminist journalist, author and activist Liz Plank in our weekly Gathering.

8,500 of you were registered to attend. Just over a hundred of you actually did.

We’d advertised it all week. The conversation was inspiring. Liz was powerful, eloquent, genuine, moving, deeply knowledgeable, and fun—and led a writing exercise in our Elephant Camp, afterward, for all members of Elephant Academy.

Walk the Talk Show has been radically successful, without any media attention, or PR/marketing or establishment help. It’s got millions upon millions of views, and now listens. I’ve had the honor of hosting nearly 600 guests, over the years, and have led another few thousand gatherings on my own.

Typically, hundreds of thousands of folks see the videos on Youtube, IGTV, Facebook and FB Live, and hear them via our podcast. 155,000 have seen our Gathering with Jane Elliott on youtube last month already—maybe another 200,000 saw her on IGTV, Facebook and, with me, live.

We just hosted Senator Cory Booker. Next up, looks like, we’ll host “Plastic-Free Mermaid” Kate Nelson for Plastic-free July, and then Beto O’Rourke (!). With your help, I could work my way up to hosting Jane Goodall, the Dalai Lama, President Obama, Wendell Berry, Greta Thunberg, AOC, perhaps even Pema Chodron.

I won’t, however, be able to keep offering these if you don’t actually show. I’m doing all this for you—for free. My staff is doing this for you.

And today, seeing how few of those registered actually attended…well, it felt like I’m at a crossroads. We’re at a crossroads, and which direction we head off in is up to you. I want to keep offering these Gatherings. But I won’t if you don’t show. I can’t if you don’t attend, comment, share—if we can’t make this a movement that actually matters, a little.

Elephant Journal is, against all odds (the decimation of indie media by Facebook, Google) rocking. That’s thanks to you. We have millions of active, caring readers every month. But these Gatherings need you, too. These Gatherings need your active, consistent, generous participation to get rolling. Hopefully they’ll be of some benefit to you, too.

Help me make this video and podcast series, and the trainings available in Elephant Academy, a community and a movement, too.

You have that power. Your joining in will help millions of others see and hear these videos, and connect with these guests, and practice meditation, and do writing exercises to find their voice and find their path to be of benefit. Your joining in might just help ease your heart, every Friday, a little—and, with it, this troubled, wonderful world of ours.

If you attend, or don’t, and want to say what you’d like to see more of, or less, or simply to express enthusiasm, or to say we should stop, please comment below.

Otherwise, please sign up to attend the free Friday Gatherings or watch and comment and share after the fact from Instagram or Facebook or Elephant or a podcast. Please sign up for any course in Elephant Academy, and you’ll gain access to every Elephant Camp, every Friday. Please make this fly.