Why is there a Bento Society and what is it for?
The Weekly Bento // September 10, 2021
Hello my friends and welcome to the Bento Society. I’m Yancey Strickler.
The past few months in this channel, I’ve been sending a weekly email inviting you to join me at the Weekly Bento on Sundays, sharing ideas and essays that interest me and are relevant to the Bento Society’s mission, and asking for your thoughts and feedback in surveys and conversations.
The general purpose for all of these things was to explore and ask the question: why is there a Bento Society and what is it for? Why does it exist? How is it meant to create value in the world — and does it? How does what we’re doing now contribute to the mission and values I laid out for the Bento Society from the beginning?
After a few months of learning and soul searching, a few things stand out:
The Bento helps people improve their self-awareness and overall awareness of their worlds. This is something that came up repeatedly in surveys and conversations. Many people are here because of the usefulness of the tool itself. The Bento helps them make decisions and lead the life they want to live.
The Bento puts the big picture in context. Many people are here because of the larger implications of the Bento. What would a world look like where we took all of these spaces seriously? This intersects in our community’s considerable experience and interest in what’s after capitalism, a new values regime, and in questioning the structures and assumptions of society itself through tools like the blockchain.
The Bento Society helps people meet other like-minded people from all around the world. The first two points are what draws people to the Bento. This last point is what causes people to make the leap into being a part of the Bento Society community. People expect and regularly find meaningful, resonant conversations with others in this community.
In the coming weeks and months, the Bento Society will evolve and launch new projects with these three pillars in mind. As we continue pursuing our mission — expanding how people see “the self,” expanding how we see “value” — our actions will be grounded in these core values that have underlined the Bento Society’s first two years of existence. They’re a starting point for where things go from here.
Starting this Sunday, you can get a preview of some of what’s in store as we’ll have a special guest host for the Weekly Bento: Ashley Lin, a teenage activist who will be hosting a new podcast through the Bento Society called Meaningful Conversations, launching this fall. Meet Ashley and your fellow Bentoists this Sunday and next at the Weekly Bento.
The 15 minute Weekly Bento
(Guest hosted by Ashley Lin)
Sundays, 12pm EST *sharp*
Doors open at 11:55am
RSVP
Peace and love,
Yancey
The Bento Society
The Bento Society explores the frontiers of what’s valuable and in our self-interest. We host weekly events and support projects aligned with our mission.