Harrison, you are most welcome. And most of the differences between our
perspectives could very well be a difference of culture and language.
Have a great weekend
Eiwor
Skickat från min HTC
----- Reply message -----
Från: "Harrison Owen" <[email protected]>
Till: "'World wide Open Space Technology email list'"
<[email protected]>
Rubrik: [OSList] Two Martinis
Datum: fre, aug 9, 2013 19:10
This pub is getting seriously busy and delightfully noisy. And fortunately it
is sufficiently international to stock some good British Gin – which I am
enjoying in my “usual.” Maybe I’ve had too many “usuals” but it did occur to me
that if somebody had certified me 28 years ago as I was sitting on my patio
enjoying two of the same, we might have avoided a lot interesting, wonderful
trouble. Over at Eiwor’s table I catch a snippet ... “ I would even dare to
say that the prework and the discussion there is what opens the space. What I
do at the beginning of an OST meeting is ritual, also important but still
ritual.” Marvelous! And my experience is somehow the opposite, or at least
something like that. Truth to tell, most of the spaces I have been privileged
to open in the last dozen years were prefaced with a brief conversation which
usually went something like: Harrison, our organization is dysfunctional and
demoralized. Can you help? My response was, “Sure.” Or if I was feeling
particularly conversational I could say – I can’t help, but you can help
yourselves if you have the time and space. And I can help you find that. We
might then go on to talk about logistics and the fact that this gathering must
be Voluntary Self Selection, a free assembly of those who care. All of them! To
be honest there is sometimes some skepticism, one might say resistance to this
condition. If it were really voluntary, nobody would come! When I hear
something like this I reply that perhaps they need to think of some other way
to deal with their afflictions ... but if they run out of options, call me
back. Open Space is not rocket science, and it can happen any time they are
ready to go. But it begins with a REAL invitation... It has been something of
a shock to my self esteem as facilitator and consultant, but in general the
quality and impact of the Open Spaces of my experience has been inversely
proportional to the amount of time and effort I expended before and after. Mine
was an incidental passage, and the faster I got out of the way, the better
everything went. “One more thing Not to do” not only minimizes work (mine) but
(perversely) maximizes impact. Strange. And then there is the Opening – that 15
minutes of circle walking and a few comments. On the face of it, those few
actions and words seem inconsequential and strange. And yet what happens over
the course of that brief time period is remarkable, by virtually any standard.
A group of people, and sometimes a very large group of people, move from bovine
placidity, aggressive hostility, or bemused curiosity into concerted action.
They never look back, and it has always “worked.” The scene becomes even more
remarkable in those situations (my common experience) where prior contact and
preparation has been minimal to non-existent. Some serious forces are at play
and somehow, someway we have a part to play. Humbling and awesome. At least it
is to me every time. Without fail. And it really flies when I get out of the
way. Well the Pub surely is bubbling tonight – and thanks Eiwor for the
stimulus to reflection! Harrison
Harrison Owen7808 River Falls Dr.Potomac, MD 20854USA 189 Beaucaire Ave.
(summer)Camden, Maine 04843 Phone 301-365-2093(summer) 207-763-3261
www.openspaceworld.com www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)To subscribe,
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