Hi, dear Frank
You wrote, describing your frustration about helping others see the OS light : <You make me laugh Lisa, calling me a crankypants! I can get so crankypants about OS and I hate that. It blocks me from finding creative solutions and making the quality of connections that could lead to productive organizational transformation. I had a good nap today during some of the committee meetings and got some good writing done. I also had a few inspiring side conversations. I've also had some ideas for how I can invite OS into this organization down the line through a more productive kind of long term dialogue and relationship building. I just get so impatient sometimes.> Well that made me laugh in return. For any of you who may have met Frank (who for this time and space has elevated himself to the title of Senior Crankypants not Señor Crankypants, Frank?) the title I feel more closely describes Frank is Mr. WonderPants. Frank, you have such a joyful appreciation for co-learning, for discovery, for play and you are dedicated to making the world more wonderful though our care for each other and for Mother Earth. Having said that, I understand your impatience. You know how it seems as if people do not think of using facilitators until something is really breaking or hurting too much? To me, it is like how so many people do not focus on proactive wellness but wait until their arm is falling off before they go see a doctor or shift their diet. Humans, we are delightful creatures, but we sometimes do not remember things our bodies may already know. And we let our little brains make logical decisions, thinking that is the smartest way to be. And what is it that the American comedian Emo Phillips says about the brain, dear Eric Lilius? I used to think the brain was the most wonderful organ in the body. And then I realized it was telling me this. So we have big hearts (which we sometimes dont listen to) and big brains and we forget that spirit, intuition, possibility, potential, breath, joy, connection, co-creation is even bigger. Sometimes people dont think of using Open Space until things really hurt, everything else they have tried has failed, and they have no other options. Sometimes when Ive facilitated a conference in Open Space a great number of participants have said in Closing Circle that they never want to go back to the conventional way of being in a conference again. And then the conference host never does OS again because they did not feel comfortable with the loss of (perceived) control. Sometimes I have done an Open Space conference-within-a-conference and it has sucked all the most interesting people out of the regular conference, because there was room to breathe, to name, to puzzle over, to share, to ponder. Sometimes it has taken me years to gently revisit the idea of Open Space for a certain conference each year, and for the first few years there is no interest, then I get to do a little mini, then a bigger mini, then a mid-sized OS, and so it grows. Sometimes after doing OS for years at a conference suddenly there will be a new conference (or organizational) coordinator and they will decide to drop OS because the new person in charge wants to make their mark (be known for changing the design). Breathe .let go .breathe let go breathe dance-play-work-share-explore-discover-celebrate let go Pardon my ramble. On a more practical note: I have found that naming other similar situations so-and-so intentional community has used OS in this way so-and-so co-housing community used OS for such-and-such you know, you can do a totally participant-driven knowledge and resources exchange conference which is also a model used around the world for sustainability, and it only takes 1 facilitator and it takes all the headache out of handling proposals and selecting presenters is useful, as is naming certain deliverables that the person you are talking with would be interested in. Mrs. I-believe-in-youPants ___________________________ L i s a H e f t Consultant, Facilitator, Educator O p e n i n g S p a c e <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] <http://www.openingspace.net> www.openingspace.net * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
