So many tribes…. To join or not to join, that is the question.
We all thrive in tribes. Without even knowing it, you’ll probably part of several.
There are those tribes we join for a purpose – Rotary, a church, a cooking club, for example. And, there are some we fall into through default, like our families, the community in which we were raised, the schools attended based on your residence.
Regardless of your entry to a tribe, it has a preferred culture. Certain ways of thinking, acting, speaking, handshakes, attitudes, rituals can all come into play.
I joined one this year without really knowing it. It’s called the “Orange Subaru Crosstrek” tribe. Let me explain.
In late spring, I purchased a used Orange Subaru Crosstrek (OSC), not knowing the tribe I was about to join. Soon thereafter, every time an OSC popped up on my drive, I noticed the driver would wave or raise a finger from the steering wheel in acknowledgment of our car tribe.
I knew nothing of this before the purchase. Instead, it became clear that I’d entered into a select group based on what, it is difficult to say. Something to do with bright colors, outdoor activities, perhaps something related to a counter culture view of the world? I’m not really sure, but that’s my reasoned guess.
The raised finger or hand wave is an acknowledgement. “Yo, good to see someone else with the same taste.” This never happened with other vehicles I’ve owned, hence the branding of OSC as a tribe. There’s something unique bonding us.
The finger wave is a communication of togetherness. I did not know this 40-some-odd years ago. The guy who eventually became best man in my wedding taught me about the gesture.
He drove a green monster of a car from the 1960s or 1970s. Like a boat, it sailed. One day, he, with his typical trademark humor began lifting a finger in greeting as we drove to a campsite down a mostly empty rural Virginia backroad.
Giggling, he went, “Watch this.”
A car approached. He lifted his finger. The beat-up pickup truck driver smiled and lifted his finger in a return greeting. My buddy was overjoyed.
This became a game the rest of the trip, lifting the finger in a wave, and older grizzled men (typically) -- probably farmers and hunters – returned the greeting. It was wonderful. We were a tribe. My friend couldn’t get enough of it.
This greeting still works today if you choose to notice. Not necessarily in our rushed urban and suburban areas, but getting outside to the two-lane higher where traffic and tensions ease.
I still do the finger wave in those more lightly trafficked areas, and with police officers. Law enforcement is another tribe that offers you belonging through the windshield.
The OSC and finger waving are about camaraderie, a greeting, letting the other individual know that you and I are alike in some way, share something, belong to the same tribe. It’s a very good human feeling. Try it sometime and see who you connect with. You might find bright colors or driving a snowplow suit you.
We all thrive in tribes. Without even knowing it, you’ll probably part of several.
There are those tribes we join for a purpose – Rotary, a church, a cooking club, for example. And, there are some we fall into through default, like our families, the community in which we were raised, the schools attended based on your residence.
Regardless of your entry to a tribe, it has a preferred culture. Certain ways of thinking, acting, speaking, handshakes, attitudes, rituals can all come into play.
I joined one this year without really knowing it. It’s called the “Orange Subaru Crosstrek” tribe. Let me explain.
In late spring, I purchased a used Orange Subaru Crosstrek (OSC), not knowing the tribe I was about to join. Soon thereafter, every time an OSC popped up on my drive, I noticed the driver would wave or raise a finger from the steering wheel in acknowledgment of our car tribe.
I knew nothing of this before the purchase. Instead, it became clear that I’d entered into a select group based on what, it is difficult to say. Something to do with bright colors, outdoor activities, perhaps something related to a counter culture view of the world? I’m not really sure, but that’s my reasoned guess.
The raised finger or hand wave is an acknowledgement. “Yo, good to see someone else with the same taste.” This never happened with other vehicles I’ve owned, hence the branding of OSC as a tribe. There’s something unique bonding us.
The finger wave is a communication of togetherness. I did not know this 40-some-odd years ago. The guy who eventually became best man in my wedding taught me about the gesture.
He drove a green monster of a car from the 1960s or 1970s. Like a boat, it sailed. One day, he, with his typical trademark humor began lifting a finger in greeting as we drove to a campsite down a mostly empty rural Virginia backroad.
Giggling, he went, “Watch this.”
A car approached. He lifted his finger. The beat-up pickup truck driver smiled and lifted his finger in a return greeting. My buddy was overjoyed.
This became a game the rest of the trip, lifting the finger in a wave, and older grizzled men (typically) -- probably farmers and hunters – returned the greeting. It was wonderful. We were a tribe. My friend couldn’t get enough of it.
This greeting still works today if you choose to notice. Not necessarily in our rushed urban and suburban areas, but getting outside to the two-lane higher where traffic and tensions ease.
I still do the finger wave in those more lightly trafficked areas, and with police officers. Law enforcement is another tribe that offers you belonging through the windshield.
The OSC and finger waving are about camaraderie, a greeting, letting the other individual know that you and I are alike in some way, share something, belong to the same tribe. It’s a very good human feeling. Try it sometime and see who you connect with. You might find bright colors or driving a snowplow suit you.