The word “Guild” has been on my mind lately. Without looking up its meaning, I like the feeling it conjures up in me. I see unity, collaboration, and mutual thriving. I envision a formless entity that, once named, becomes something tangible. A guild brings the ingredients together, and in their combining, all are stronger for it. Like alloys in chemistry, combinations of metals are stronger than their individual parts.
When I mentioned “guild” to my husband, he did some research.
Guild: a medieval association of craftsmen or merchants, often having considerable power. Formed to promote the economic interests for their members, as well as to provide protection and mutual aid.
Guilds were combinations of masters and workers, whereas unions were formed to serve workers alone.
Guilds primarily facilitate negotiations between their own members.
(Oxford Languages, 2023).
A bit of history helps to understand the origin of a word.
You know what else I think of? An amazing Web Series called… wait for it… “THE GUILD”!! The episodes are posted here: http://watchtheguild.com
“The Guild” web series is about a group of online gamers who join forces (a guild) and work together to defeat common foes. The show is magnificent, even if my writing about it isn’t.
I did my own online research: “how to form a guild”, and the internet provided. There are mindful gamers who’ve provided written instructions, including step-by-step considerations for group formation (thanks for that).
Here’s a snippit of helpful tips on forming a guild:
Make your guild stable. Your guild starts out dead, with only one member, and with no reputation. You have to start recruiting and set a vision for your guild.
Keep people compatible. As you build up a core community, make sure new members and new officers are compatible with each other, and with your overall vision.
Develop a good culture. Make sure that the culture that begins to grow in the guild is the one you want.
Do great things. As Steve Jobs once said, make a dent in the universe. Help make sure people are having fun. Help your members succeed.
Never look back. Make sure you’re focused on the goals you want to achieve. Those goals are always in front of you.
Source: https://www.llts.org/Articles/Articles/150_Successful_Guild_Guide%20_%20Allods%20On.php(2023)
Most of that feels just right. I’m only stuck the last one. I do think it’s helpful to reflect on the past to understand what worked and what didn’t. Maybe don’t dwell there? Don’t linger in the past? But visit it? Reflect on it.
As for the rest? Yeah. Yep. Like that.
What will grow from here?
I’m once again thankful for the freedom and energy to noodle on silly things like ideas. Playing with words helps me unbundle spaghetti-brain (there I go, mixing metaphors again). Hope you enjoyed!
Love,
Jessie
I love your noodle!