At 04:55 AM 11/6/00 -0500, you wrote:
Dear friends and colleagues,
here is a little story that was told to us the other evening in a group of
people. It reminds me that although it is a popular opinion on this list
that less is best, it isn't always so--at least when you are new at it.
One woman was telling the story of her daughter who had been for driving
lessons that day. The teacher told the daughter to go through the next
light and then to turn left at the first street after that. The daughter
asked the teacher if he was sure she should go through the light. He said
yes. Well, they got to the light and the light was red. The daughter kept
right on going. It was only due to the teacher slamming on the brakes on
his side of the training car that they avoided a bad accident. The teacher
yelled at the daughter for going through the red light and putting them in
danger. The daughter pointed out that he had told her to go through the
light. She was a new driver and did not know that he really meant for her
to stop at the light first if it was red.
Nice story, but I think there is a genuine difference between learning to
drive and Open Space. Driving an automobile is not a natural phenomenon. We
aren't born with wheels and windshield wipers, and nothing in our natal
experience tells us about Stop Lights. Open Space, on the other hand is, I
think, a totally natural phenomenon -- that of self-organization.--
something that we already are, but try very hard to forget. After all, if
self-organization were a genuine reality on the human scene, most managers
(of meetings and organizations) would be of little use, along with all the
other folks who trained the managers to do what didn't need to be done. Or
something like that. So in Open Space, a core issue (for me) is to remember
who I/we essentially am/are. In virtually all cases this means peeling
stuff away, thinking of one more thing not to be done, which ultimately
means, Less is More. I think.
Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, MD 20854 USA
phone 301-469-9269
fax 301-983-9314
website www.mindspring.com/~owenhh
Open Space Institute website www.openspaceworld.org
