As I recall what has happened all along on my OS journey, the "Be prepared to be surprised" has been the emergent reality of "Here and Now" regardless of outcome: an collective & integral possibility to be explored and realized.
Thus I would recommend it stands out among what might be expected in OS. After all, all life is Open. "Be Prepared to be Surprised" seems to be a learning we often forget. It challenges all of us to contribute to birthing of a possibly Pleasant Surprise! Well, "be prepared..." Otherwise... Anyhow, everything seems to be okay as far as it serves our life. spark 2010/5/5 Artur Silva <arturfsi...@yahoo.com> > Interesting. > > > > In my practice, when people arrive, in the entrance, out of the main room, > the first things they see are two posters: one with the "theme" and another > with "Be surprised...". Then, if there is a corridor, they will see some > more posters only with "Be surprised". > > > > Only when they came to the main room they will see the Law, in the wall > near the last door before the main room. > > > > In the wall of the main room, there are normally posters with "The theme", > "Be surprised", the Law, and the Principles. In my opening, I always refer > in this order: the theme, "be surprised" and the Law and then, sometimes, I > refer the principles, one by one. Some other times I refer only some of the > principles (but the others are in the posters). > > > In two cases, as I have told many moons ago, the principles are not there > in posters and they have not been referred at all. > > > > I all the cases (included this experiment I have done twice) it always > works. > > > > Best > > > > Artur > > > PS: And, no, MMP, I am not studying German... Sorry... > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Michael Herman <mich...@michaelherman.com> > > *To:* osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu > *Sent:* Wed, May 5, 2010 2:55:28 PM > *Subject:* Re: [OSLIST] Brian Bainbridge and the fifth principle > > when i did my first event in open space, i studied the book, pieced > together a script, and made posters. 'be prepared to be surprised' was one > of the posters, and has been ever since. so i think that line must have > come from the user's guide, which brian told me he reviewed, at least a > little bit, before every opening. must have been the church thing seeping > into the ost side of his work -- do the reading and then do the feast. > <grin> i used to post 'be prepared...' and talk about it as the last of the > four posters, a sort of summary, but i saw brian do something different with > it: he put it up on the door, as a sort of first shot when people arrived. > in that way, it not only said surprise, but it was, itself, surprising. if > i were to add anything to the four principles, it might be brian's simple > summary: it's all good. > > m > > > -- > > Michael Herman > Michael Herman Associates > > http://www.michaelherman.com > http://www.ronanparktrail.com > http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org > http://www.openspaceworld.org > > 312-280-7838 (mobile) > > > On Wed, May 5, 2010 at 8:32 AM, Michael M Pannwitz <mmpa...@boscop.org>wrote: > >> Dear Artur, >> "Be prepared to be surprised!", in German, which I understand you have >> been learning in preparation for your trip to the WOSonOS in Berlin, I >> phrase it "Augen Auf! Mit Ueberraschungen ist zu rechnen!" >> Aside the four facts of life (them aint principles, come on) it is what >> Harrison called the admonition (all tongue in cheek, never to be taken with >> total seriousness...all on page 91 of the third edition to the Guide). >> So its been part of my intro to OST all on an extra large flipchart paper. >> I had the notion that everybody has been using this seeing it sometimes on >> photos of os events. >> Maybe I am missing something here. >> >> Fact is, I have never been to an os event where there were no surprises! >> Great and small, happy and nasty... >> >> See you next week at the WOSonOS where I will expect you with the >> denatured ethyl alcohol in hand for the "international suitcase buffet" to >> fuel your grill for the chouriços...I remember them well at 8th WOSonOS in >> Berlin 10 years ago... >> Cheers >> mmp >> >> Artur Silva schrieb: >> >> Chris (and all, in Melbourne and elsewhere) >>> >>> >>> I understand and respect your desire to honor Brian, >>> which I used to call a friend, even if we have met only once. But one >>> single face to >>> face meeting is enough to develop a solid friendship, especially when one >>> is >>> prepared to be surprised... >>> >>> >>> As you all know my relationship with the principles is >>> not easy, and I only can understand them as "what always happens" if one >>> opens >>> space - or in what Harrison used to call an "InterActive >>> Organization". >>> >>> >>> Anyhow, for me, "Be Prepared..." is not something >>> that always happens. Is a king of recommendation to open oneself to the >>> space >>> being opened. >>> >>> >>> My counter suggestion comes like this: OST has 1 Law >>> (and a very powerful one), 4 principles (if we have to accept that...) >>> and one recommendation >>> (you may chose another name), that from now on can be called "Brian's >>> Recommendation". >>> >>> >>> What do you all (in Melbourne and elsewhere) think >>> about that? >>> >>> >>> Regards from a sunny Lisbon - happy because I will soon >>> met a lot of friends in Berlin and unhappy as I will not have the >>> possibility >>> to met some others that will not come this time >>> >>> >>> Artur >>> >>> >>> --- On Mon, 5/3/10, Chris Corrigan <ch...@chriscorrigan.com> wrote: >>> >>> From: Chris Corrigan <ch...@chriscorrigan.com> >>> Subject: [OSLIST] Brian Bainbridge and the fifth principle >>> To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu >>> Date: Monday, May 3, 2010, 9:49 PM >>> >>> Hello from Melbourne. I've just opened space at a conference here with >>> Viv McWaters, Geoff Brown, Anne Pattillo and Johnnie Moore. We've got a two >>> day, full on participatory conference on evaluation with 179 people. 40 >>> topics have gone up for our day and a half OS. >>> >>> It's sweet for me being here in Melbourne, which for me is the spiritual >>> home of Open Space in Australia (would you agree Brendan? :-)). Of course >>> for me that impression largely comes from the fact that this was Father >>> Brian Banibridge's home, and I regret that I never made it here while he >>> was alive, only able to meet him over the years at various OSonOS gatherings >>> or when he stopped by our place on retreat or en route to elsewhere. >>> >>> Brian of course was such a stalwart member of our community...he and Viv >>> have hosted trainings in Australia for years and of course they took the >>> mantle of hosting OSonOS X in 2002 after Laurel Doersam and I co-hosted it >>> in Vancouver. It's such a pleasure to be here working with Viv and our team >>> in this place, with Brian's presence very much in our mind. >>> >>> And so as way of honouring Brian in our own little way today we took the >>> unprecedented step of officially adding a fifth principle to the Open Space >>> canon. Of course the four principles are very important and probably all we >>> need, but Brian always posted a fifth one up when he worked: Be Prepared to >>> be Surprised. For years I have also made a poster with that one on it and >>> put it up in the room, but today in my opening I elevated that most >>> excellent phrase by making it the third principle of five. It comes right >>> after Whoever comes... and Whatever happens... Be Prepared to be Surprised. >>> And then When it starts... and when it's over...lovely. >>> >>> It seems a perfectly natural place to put it, and, being here in >>> Melbourne, it seemed a perfectly natural act to just say out loud "Open >>> Space has 5 principles and one law..." Viv and I both got a little shiver >>> up our spine, our own little testimonial to a great friend of our community >>> of practice whose presence we miss dearly. >>> >>> So from now on it'll be five principles for me, and in reciting them I >>> always see in my own mind Harrison's call to simplicity, Anne Stadler's call >>> to take simplicity seriously (which helped Harrison get the principles right >>> - that IS the story, right?) and Brian's mischievous imperative to be open >>> to surprise. >>> >>> So as we prepare to gather here in Melbourne on May 11 for a little >>> OSonOS with 40 or so local OS-workers, and our community of friends and >>> colleagues gathers internationally in Berlin, Viv and I invite you to >>> officially adopt Brian's fifth principle not for sentimental reasons, but >>> just because it makes sense, and it lightens the invitation in just the >>> right way. >>> >>> It's all good. >>> >>> Chris >>> ---- >>> Chris Corrigan >>> ch...@chriscorrigan.com >>> http://www.chriscorrigan.com >>> >>> * >>> * >>> ========================================================== >>> osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu >>> ------------------------------ >>> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, >>> view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: >>> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html >>> >>> To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: >>> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> * >>> * >>> ========================================================== >>> osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu >>> ------------------------------ >>> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, >>> view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: >>> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html >>> >>> To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: >>> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist >>> >> >> -- >> Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg >> Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany >> ++49-30-772 8000 >> mmpa...@boscop.org >> www.boscop.org >> >> >> Check out the Open Space World Map presently showing 397 resident Open >> Space Workers in 68 countries working in a total of 141 countries worldwide >> Have a look: >> www.openspaceworldmap.org >> >> >> * >> * >> ========================================================== >> osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu >> ------------------------------ >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, >> view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: >> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html >> >> To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: >> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist >> > > * * ========================================================== > osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To > subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of > osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about > OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist > > * * ========================================================== > osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To > subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of > osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about > OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
