I completely understand, Harrison, and I know you share the same
values as I do.
I am not saying anyone could or should have done more. I simply enjoy
exploring these issues and seeing what I myself have passion for and
wish to explore further.
There was huge diversity at the WOSonOS - though it might not have
been measured by what one could see by looking. This was due to an
amazingly creative and loving practice from the whole host team and a
collection of really kind colleagues - both those who could join us
and those who could not. We had a rich diversity class, ability /
disability, academic level, financial level, employment, age, gender,
traveler newness, comfort / discomfort in groups, language ability,
people who are thriving despite personal challenges and more.
There has been an amazing mix of folks from all over the world at the
gatherings you have hosted - and a rich diversity of experience,
history, practice, language and culture.
So all I am saying is that I love that sort of stuff. And that it is
part of my practice to always explore who else and how else - in
everything I do.
And I love you, Harrison, fully and completely, as you know.
It was tempting to 'keep the hat' when I wore it that evening in the
pub. ;o)
But it looks very good on you and I love that you have such wisdom,
such generosity, such passion, and such a cool hat...
Lisa
On Oct 24, 2012, at 2:39 PM, Harrison Owen wrote:
Lisa – Never for a moment would I challenge your title as Access
Queen, to which we might add a new one – “Hostess with the Mostest!”
Bravo! Well done… and…
There are also other possible styles and modes of operation. Mine
for instance. My choice is almost inevitably to do less, as little
as possible, or indeed nothing at all. All under the heading of “One
more thing not to do.” In frivolous moments I tend to explain my
behavior as laziness, but truthfully there really is some thought
here. Over the years I have discovered that the less I do, the
better things seem to turn out. The secret seems to be that my “out
front doing” takes up a lot of space and even when that doing is
done with the best of intentions – it inevitably deprives other
people of the opportunity. They might just feel, Oh well, Harrison
will take care of it, or even worse my “doing” becomes a threatening
standard and not terribly far from “The Right Way.” Should we reach
that awful endpoint, we are uncomfortably close to the Kingdom of
the Great THEY. THEY are in power, and I (poor me) have no place
here, nor any responsibility. For me it is an old truth, If I
empower you, you are in my power. Lose/Lose.
Doing Nothing, however needs to be balanced with Being More, I
think. My hope and intention (realized only occasionally, I admit)
is to Be in a way that space/time is truly open and inviting. My
invitation is for each person I meet to be fully themselves,
brilliant or warty as that may be. Occasionally this is a matter of
words spoken, but somehow much more subtle. Truthfully I really
can’t say what “it” is -- but I definitely know “it” when we meet.
And I do have an idea as to how I get to that place. Call it
clearing, focus, intention, whatever, but I find myself in a quiet
open space which is rich with potential and welcoming to the rich
diversity of my fellows. Fun stuff!
Open Space Technology has been my playground, practice, and teacher
about a lot of things, but mostly about the wonder of this self
organizing world. I have been interested in (fascinated by) self
organization ever since. My dissertation in 1965 could have been sub-
titled, “Chaos, Order and the Creative Process.” But all of that was
pretty much of an intellectual endeavor. Then along came Open Space.
My intellectual games became my existential reality. I found myself
living intentionally in this self organizing world, the only one we
have got. And with the passage of time I learned, sometimes very
painfully, about being deeply and effectively in that environment to
the end that I might be fully myself, and of equal importance,
somehow to enable (encourage, facilitate, challenge, etc) others to
enjoy the same experience. What began as a funny attempt to have
better meetings became a pathway to extraordinary human performance,
and genuine peace. Things to cherish, and things to share -- and you
really can’t do one without the other. To share something you don’t
cherish is pretty sick, and to cherish something you won’t share
creates a very small world. And curiously enough, the corner stone
of everything for me was Not Doing.
I guess all of this has become rather personal to say nothing of
esoteric, but there are some practical implications and
applications, I think.
First – Open Space (as in OST) is free and always has been. After
all it belongs to everybody as a birthright. Second – Anybody can do
it. The simple truth of the matter is that we all (7.5 billion of
us) do it except that some people don’t recognize this and are
therefore less comfortable and effective. Third – Helping people
find their time/space is less about what we do than how we are.
After all we are not teaching them anything new, we are merely
helping them to remember what they already know. And remembering, in
the last analysis, is something you have to do for yourself. I like
to think of my several books as a jog to the memory.J
Last but not least, Lisa – to your special concerns of INCLUSION and
DIVERSITY. And lest you have any doubts, they are my concerns as
well. I find that diverse (different) peoples will include
themselves when they perceive an attractive, productive, welcoming
space. As a matter of fact, it is very hard to keep them out, even
if you tried. I think we see this in small ways in every Open Space
when total strangers show up, as happened in London. Personally I
noticed this first (in reverse, as it were) when visiting small,
isolated bush villages in West Africa. I would show up as the only
white man most of the children had ever seen – and be enfolded in a
warm welcome. Not showy, and definitely not verbal (I couldn’t
understand a word) but there was space for me. Welcoming the
stranger was a way of life.
I think something like this happens just about every time we open
space. Think of the security guards in London. They had their roles,
and positions (at the door), but they got sucked in. And they will
remember. They will tell their friends. And I wouldn’t be at all
surprised if someday “we” didn’t see them again somewhere.
But…you might say we could have done more. Of course. And the “more”
that you do is marvelous. It can also be a little fatiguing. For a
single event, even 20 of them in succession (Thank you Phelim and
D&D) you can go the distance, but how about the global enterprise?
There are 7.5 billion different people out there all living in open
space, and just about everybody could use a hand. Organizing
something like that, one event at a time, boggles the mind and
breaks the back. At least my back. And what about an alternative?
I think that alternative might look pretty much like what we are
(and have been) doing. Open space, wherever, however, whenever, with
whomsoever, about whatever…Let some light shine in and out. Inside
the “participants” will bask in the glow (they always do). And
outside, the strangers will see -- not so much what we “do” which
really may look weird – but most importantly how we are. They may
come in then, or later, or not at all. But over time, and around the
world, it is just amazing how many people have shown up!
If you look at any single gathering (London for example) – the skin
color might have been darker. There might have been different
people. But it was what it was, what it was. And wasn’t it
wonderful! And also somehow limited. However, if you think of London
as a momentary “piercing of the veil,” revealing those particular
people at that particular time fully being themselves, and enjoying
it (most of the time) – as a snapshot of a global experience
involving millions of people in hundreds of thousands of similar
gatherings, each person different as different can be: Tibetan
Monks, IBM Executives, Israeli Kibbutzim, Egyptian activists,
African villagers, Haitian teachers, Boeing Engineers, Radical
feminists, Roman Catholic Nuns, UN Human Rights Staff, Columbian
Government folks and FARC, Microsoft Engineers, and on and on and
on. On through the manifold diverse wonder of humanity. I don’t
think it has gone all that badly, especially since we never had a
plan.
I love you Lisa. Just keep on keep’in on. Somehow it is all working
out. And what about the final reel? Show ain’t over yet. Keep tuned!
ho
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