I am with Peggy. And it may be that the American understanding of "indifference" is rather different than the literal meaning of the word. For us (US) "indifference" means not to care, no difference. It is not about tolerance, lack of attachment -- just means I don't care. That to me is just the opposite of what happens in OS. People do care, and there is passion and often conflict as the objects of caring get in the way of each other. But when the space is sufficient, conflict works out in useful ways. Sometimes it isn't pretty, but it always seems to work, and is surely better than any alternative I have come across.
ho Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Dr. Potomac, MD 20854 USA Phone 301-365-2093 www.openspaceworld.com www.ho-image.com (Personal Website) To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Peggy Holman Sent: Friday, January 29, 2010 5:44 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: On indifference To me indifference signals someone has checked-out. I think people often let go, are more willing to be unattached, when they experience the abundance of possibility that exists when space opens. This may be a situation where, from the outside, something looks the same -- indifference, nonattachment -- but the internal experience is radically different. Peggy On Jan 28, 2010, at 6:20 PM, Ralph Copleman wrote: > I have just re-read the little poem I sent to the list earlier today, and I sort of tripped over my use of the word "indifference". > > Open space, I have often told myself, succeeds in part because we bring our passion, infused with the energy of commitment or responsibility. But as I stumble over that one word, I find myself asking if OS succeeds also because participants can relax and let go of something; we can settle into some form of indifference characterized by a kind of less-certainty or non-knowing. Maybe it's just relaxation. Perhaps so much good stuff happens because tension levels rarely run high, replaced by play and buoyancy. > > Ralph Copleman > > P.S. To those who are generously inviting me to be a friend on Face book, Open Space World, or any other social networking program: I appreciate the interest, but I cannot keep up with everyone so I am limiting my "confirm" responses these days to a very few. A no-response does not mean I am "indifferent" to you. Thanks for understanding. > > * > * > ========================================================== > [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 * * ========================================================== [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
