Tania - I am not sure that the level of conflict has actually increased, but I am sure that people are more willing to talk about it. Which may be your point. In this country (US) we used to talk about "Minnesota Nice." It was simply bad form to be anything other than "nice." And so very often, what needed to be said was never said, at least in polite company. But in the hall ways... Conflict was indeed alive and living poorly.
I have always felt that Passion and Conflict were simply two sides of the same coin. Or put another way Conflict occurred when two or more passions locked horns without sufficient space to negotiate. The "answer" is pretty simple. Just open some more space. I guess that may sound overly simplistic and too theoretical, but it certainly describes my experience and practice. Over the years I have found myself in the middle of some pretty conflicted environments with very angry people. However, in an Open Space for precisely the same people dealing with the same issues, there has never been a case of the conflict turning violent. Loud for sure, with lots of waving arms... but as long as the space was open, the people managed everything. Even to the point that my normal practice of taking naps has never had to be abandoned. As a matter of fact, I see conflict as an essential quality of life. If you were to show me a conflict free organization, I am pretty sure it would be a dead one. The key point, for me is not the elimination of conflict, but rather the assurance that sufficient space is available for all that power/energy locked up in the conflict to find more constructive pathways. Which it always seems to do, given the opportunity. And further more I have never found it necessary, or even possible to mediate a solution. I've tried for sure, but when it seemed that I was successful, I think it was actually the case that the people had it all figured out, and I was just lucky to ride on their wisdom. More often than not, my efforts amounted to zilch - or even worse - clearly messed thing up more completely. At the end of the day only the conflicted can possibly know the complexity of their entanglements, and only they can straighten it out. Or so I've found. Harrison Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Dr. Potomac, MD 20854 USA 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, 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 Rev Tania Eichler Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2014 7:37 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [OSList] Has anyone noticed a rise in CONFLICT from OS systems Good morning (or whatever time it is where you are...) May I ask if anyone has noticed a rise in conflict - which I believe it is good so that we can further understand each other and the common goals - when engaging in open space and self organising systems? I have noticed conflict arising as more people are given permission and freedom to be involved and igniting their passion and responsibility. Thoughts please ... Thank you - from me in Brisbane - Tania. cid:[email protected] The Reverend Tania Eichler RECTOR St Catherine's Anglican Community 43 Macfarlane Street MIDDLE PARK Q 4074 P: +61 7 33764052 M: 0401690127 E: [email protected] W: http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~stcaths/ check out our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/StCathsAngliBNE?ref=br_tf AREA DEAN - Brisbane South West CELEBRATE our life in God CARE and respond to human need GROW in relationships with Christ and each other Chair:CENTENARY RECOVERY GROUP If you are not the intended recipient please do not read, save, forward, disclose, or copy the contents of this email. If this email has been sent to you in error, please delete this email immediately from your system. Views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and are not necessarily the views of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane.
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