Harrison,
Thank you! Your note means a lot to me. Thanks for the encouragement
about not getting stuck on the method.
Speaking of happiness, I just read an email from Lyssa Adkins from her
Coaching Agile Teams mailing list. Lyssa carries a worn print out of the
Tao of Open Space which she showed me at an Agile event years ago. Her
email had a link to this six minute video, http://youtu.be/oHv6vTKD6lg,
that still has me a bit choked up. "The Science of Happiness - An
Experiment on Gratitude".
The subject of the short video was based on research that shows
happiness is directly linked to our level of gratitude. The experiment
of the video was to test subjects before and after having them write
about the person that had the most impact on them, and then they
surprised them with an invitation to call that person and read the letter.
Harrison, your work has had one of the biggest impacts on my life. It's
so simple, and yet so profound. It opened a door for me that I seem to
need to keep stepping through. Thank you for your ever present
willingness to support and engage with newbies like I was 6 years ago to
practice this philosophy of open space in our organizations and
communities. And thank you for telling me not to stop now. I won't!
Much love,
Harold
On 10/9/13 3:06 PM, Harrison Owen wrote:
Harold -- We're (speaking only for myself! J) not just "warm" -- I'm
HOT -- for you and anybody else who is pushing some boundaries. Just
because I don't understand (senility) or seem to disagree
(curmudgeonly) is no cause for unhappiness. Just bear with us! And
Don't stop now!
My problem with all of this is that we seem to be spending a lot of
words to say something pretty simple. To live well (effectively) in
this world, you got to be agile -- and with a little open space to
move in, agility becomes more possible. (Note: there are no capital
letters) Or something like that. If any of that makes any sense, the
connection between Agile and Open Space becomes not only obvious but
essential (now we have some capitals.)
So carry on, my friend. But please, don't get stuck on "method" (Agile
or Open Space Technology) or ideology. What's next? Where to? You're on!!
Harrison
--
Harold Shinsato
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
http://shinsato.com
twitter: @hajush <http://twitter.com/hajush>
