Fauke Sounds like you guys had quite a good time! But I am not sure about the new principles:
* Try not to be critical * Try not to be cynical I couldnt argue with Lindas rationale the 5 Principles are all descriptive (of what will happen anyhow) and these two are pre-scriptive (talking about what should/should not happen.) This might be purist but my reasons are a little different. Truth of the matter is that I really value the confirmed cynic and the serious critic. Serious criticism, I find, is the way (or certainly a way) of clarifying muddled thinking, sharpening good ideas to make them better, clarifying good discussion to make sure we are talking about real issues and not some phantasm of our imagination. Without question my best friends over the years have been my most serious critics. I cant say I always enjoyed what they had to say, but I always benefitted. As for cynics, I do admit that they can be rather a pain. That said, I almost always found that what I took to be cynical they considered realism. Sometimes, you just had to leave it at that different strokes for different folks, sort of thing. And failing everything else, there was always The Law of Two Feet. But more often than not I found that seriously engaging the cynic led to a deeper understanding for both of us. It could have been that they saw the world differently because they lived in a different world (life experience) which I simply had no knowledge of. Our conversations inevitably took us (both of us) to places neither had been and we were the richer for it. I also have to admit that a good shot of cynicism can be a very useful astringent to sharpen up otherwise bland and cliché ridden conversation. Always good for the soul, I think. As with anything else Too much of a good thing can be overpowering, and that is certainly true for cynicism and criticism. But the same might be said for chocolate desserts. J Something about everything in moderation but who is going to make that determination? I suppose if I were to wander into the prescriptive waters to talk about what we should do, about the best I can come up with would be something like, If you care to come, just make sure to bring your whole self all your passion, responsibility including all the warts and sticky parts. We all have them and they can be a pain to us and to others. But the alternative of leaving the undesirable parts at home will guarantee a pretty boring Open Space (and life in general). The proof, if there could be such a thing, occurs when a cantankerous bunch of cynical critics, known for their ill manners, bad taste, and snide comments all of a sudden turn into a blur of creativity and good fellowship. Now that is an Open Space to remember, and Ive seen quite a few. Always blows me away and it simply couldnt happen without all those mean, nasty people. Harrison Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Dr. Potomac, MD 20854 USA 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer) Camden, Maine 20854 Phone 301-365-2093 (summer) 207-763-3261 www.openspaceworld.com www.ho-image.com (Personal Website) To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST Go to: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Frauke Godat Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2012 12:45 PM To: World wide Open Space Technology email list Subject: [OSList] From the Immersion 2012: some new Open Space principles? Today, we had the first Open Space within the Immersion 2012 <http://www.the-lwi.org/immersion2012> gathering. From Israel, we have received a possible 6th and 7th principle: http://aohberlin2011.posterous.com/immersion-2012-some-new-open-space-princi ples With sunny greetings from rural Greece, Frauke
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