From: Deborah Hartmann [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 10:23 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [OSLIST] whatever happens...
> Life, of course, is filled with throwaways. Some stick around and others depart. The wording of this makes me think of the (apocryphal?) story of the invention of Post-Its - a failed adhesives experiment at 3M, so I've heard. A throw-away. But it fit a need... and has changed how we work! It literally "stuck around" :-) Harrison Owen wrote: > > It is interesting (funny, odd, strange) how words, once casually > spoken, take on a life of their own, and somehow or another possess a > depth of meaning that was totally invisible in the moment of speaking. > The phrase, "Whatever happens is the only thing that could have," was > just a throwaway, but it seemed to fit. > > I suppose it would be nice if I could tell you that each of the > Principles, along with the Law of Two Feet, were the direct result of > profound and careful thought. Maybe it would be more "socially > (academically) acceptable if their origin were rooted in an extensive > consideration of life in all of its aspects, with due deference given > to the age old polarities of freedom and determinism, self and world, > being and non-being, just to name a few. Then I could announce that > after many years of deep meditation on the mountain top I have come to > pronounce the core understandings - the essential principles and the > one law. Nice, but total fabrication! The genesis, in fact was quite > different. It just seemed to be the right thing in the moment. > > Life, of course, is filled with throwaways. Some stick around and > others depart. What is the difference? I think the difference is the > way in which a phrase (or even one word) assumes a life of its own in > a community. There never was an "authorized text" - and for sure The > Community (whatever that was/is) never sat down in formal process to > determine the correct words. Rather like pebbles in a brook worn by > the passage of waters, some words are polished and smoothed to reveal > a deeper glow, and some are shattered to become sand and mud - all > taking place as the currents of community usage pass on by. > > I think it is probably important to note that the Principles and The > law were never prescriptive - as in telling people what they should > do. They are in fact descriptive - simply noting what will take place > anyhow. Even if we have been taught, trained, coerced, believe the > opposite - the principles and the law seems to be true. And for that > reason alone they are always troubling. They seem wrong, counter > intuitive, and definitely not according to our plans - but that is the > way it is. Or so it has seemed for 20 years. > > I can remember times when there was intense discussion about the 1^st > Principle (Whoever comes is the right people). People would say - Does > that mean that those who don't come are the wrong people? Are they > somehow bad, evil, and monstrous? Not at all! But the fact of the > matter is that they didn't care to come. No judgment made concerning > their moral status - just a simple statement of fact. They didn't care > to come. And what makes the people present the "right people?" Another > statement of fact - They did care to come. > > So where does that leave us? I guess the conversation continues, and > the waters in the brook continue to do their work. Actually I really > like, "Whatever happens is the only thing that did." Makes me smile > too! And maybe I will give it a try and see how it passes over my > lips. But then again, I rather like the old one. Perhaps I am getting > older and set in my ways (all true) - but somehow the "could have" has > a useful jarring quality. Upon first hearing it surely sounds like > pure determinism - we are all locked in a prefigured universe which is > just rolling over us. But there is also a smile there too. And beneath > the smile is a recognition that given the constraints and forces of > the instant what happened was the only possible result. Given > different forces and constraints the results would be totally > different - but all that is just hypothetical. We could just sit here > and say ain't it awful, our freedom is denied, the dice have been > thrown. OR - we could pay very close attention to the present moment > and discover that even though it isn't what we expected, planned on, > or hoped for - there are in fact some incredible, rich opportunities > present which have never existed previously. So rather than > constraining our freedom, it is expanded in ways and directions we had > never even dreamed about. I like that one. > > Harrison > > Harrison Owen > > 7808 River Falls Drive > > Potomac, Maryland 20854 > > Phone 301-365-2093 > > Skype hhowen > > Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com > <http://www.openspaceworld.com/> > > Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org > <http://www.openspaceworld.org/> > > Personal website www.ho-image.com <http://www.ho-image.com/> > > OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the > archives Visit: www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html > <http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html> > > -----Original Message----- > *From:* OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of > *John Engle > *Sent:* Monday, April 23, 2007 9:22 PM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* whatever happens... > > Hi fellow listers. > > I know that some have been through this hundreds of times but I'm > wanting to get the most recent reflections on the principle: > > Whatever happens is the only thing that could've. > > My colleagues in Haiti and I continue to have smart people from a > variety of cultures let us know that this principle doesn't sit well > with them. > > It communicates fatalism to some instead of encouraging > responsibility. While i'm totally comfortable with the principle, if > enough people tell me that it communicates something to them that is > different than what i'm trying to communicate, there's a problem. > > For me, what's worse is that often times people remember it as: "What > happens is that which is supposed to happen" or "There's a reason for > everything that happens." This can have us sounding like Christian > fundamentalist. > > We've been experimenting in Haitian Creole and in English with this: > > What Happens is what happens - learn and move forward. > > Here's an example of a text that would explain this principle: > > This principle helps us to not lament over should'ves, to not wallow > in regrets. We're all responsible for how we use our time and space > together during this meeting. Let's assume that responsibility and be > prepared to accept what happens and to continually strive to learn and > to keep moving forward. > > i covet your thoughts. > > John > > > > > www.johnengle.net <http://johnengle.net> Open space facilitation > www.circlesofchange.com <http://circlesofchange.com> Participatory > learning and leadership > www.harvesttime.cc <http://harvesttime.cc> Harvesting for justice that > all may have enough > > telephone Haiti: 509-461-3067 > > email: [email protected] > telephone: 202-236-6532 > fax: 202-449-8343 > > John Engle > P.O. Box 337 > Hershey, PA 17033 * * > ========================================================== > [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 > > * * ========================================================== > [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 -- Deborah Hartmann Agile Process Coach deborah AT hartmann DOT net mobile: fouronesix 996 4337 "Learn the principle, abide by the principle, and dissolve the principle." -- Bruce Lee * * ========================================================== [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
