This is a dramatic explanation of the fact that Jews are people who remember places they have never been and relating to people we never knew.
On Thu, Apr 17, 2014 at 9:51 AM, Chris Kloth <[email protected]>wrote: > I am not sure this post from last Monday made it to the list, although a > followup with a correction seems to have made it. I am re-posting in case > it didn't make it. I have made the corrections to clean it up. My apologies > if this is a duplication. > -- > > For those of you who are of the tribe, Happy Passover! > > On this Passover I am experiencing a sense of integrating my own thoughts > on several OSLIST threads from the last several weeks... linking a 2000+ > year old story to my own story of incorporating Open Space into my work for > 20-ish years. [HO - what a long strange trip it's been :-)] > > My experience is that good things and bad things happen everywhere, > whether or not space has been opened. Self-organization is always occurring > everywhere, sometimes to a good end, a bad end or simply adapting to what > is - for better or worse. Sometimes we notice and sometimes we don't. Once > we do notice we may or may not fully understand what we are noticing. The > terms perception/selective perception and framing/re-framing come to mind. > Both seem to involve a story or narrative, as well as a matter of choice. > > In this context, when I talk about self-organization, boundaries, > authority and most other things I am sharing a narrative rooted in the > choices I have made while trying to make sense of what I have noticed. When > I hear/see anyone ruminating about any of these topics I know the narrative > is rooted in each person's own choices while making sense of their > experiences. What I appreciate about the list is that if I am able to > maintain a spirit of curiosity I may gain new ways of understanding my own > narrative and yours. What follows is a storyline that has influenced how I > have struggled with the content of these recent threads. > > In 1989 I was part of a group exploring issues of change in what was still > the Soviet Union. I experienced perception and framing challenges so many > times some days that my head was spinning. > > One narrative that apparently still has legs is this: They pretend tend to > pay us and we pretend to work. We saw all kinds of examples of how the > formal structures created boundaries, silos and misuse of authority that > reinforced dysfunction. But under the surface we noticed incredible > examples of creativity and resilience as people figured out how to get good > results despite all the barriers. The first OST User's Guide had yet to be > published, but the right people were showing up and passion and > responsibility were busting out all over despite boundaries and without > formal authority. > > While we were officially on an organized learning mission with the group > we were part of, my wife and I also decided to smuggle 50 Russian/Hebrew > Haggadahs (prayer books) to a congregation in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. At the > time religion and religious material were still illegal in the Soviet > Union. Somewhat paradoxically, in this setting Islam was the dominant > religion in Uzbekistan and had to be accounted for as much as the legal > issues. We knew no one in Uzbekistan so our only strategy was to show up, > pay attention and figure it out... passion, responsibility and > self-organization in action despite a culture and laws that prohibited the > exercise of passion and responsibility. The right people showed up. We > showed up in the spirit of making something happen. Others showed up, found > us, and helped make it happen. > > We were able to get the Haggadahs to the congregation through > intermediaries we encountered along the way. We know for sure because > several years later we met a young man who had recently immigrated to > Columbus from Uzbekistan. We discovered he had been a child in the > congregation when the books arrived only a few days before Passover. Good, > new stuff can happen anywhere. Space can be opened in more or less > hospitable environments. > > Later during the trip we boarded a train from Moscow to Helsinki on > Passover. Several of us on the trip who are Jewish decided we wanted to do > something for Passover. Several people in Moscow took some risks to help us > put together a plate. Passion, responsibility, self-organization and the > right people... re-framing the narrative about what is possible. > > Every year Jews read the Torah from start to finish. It is the same story > every year. It is also a new story every year. In the context of our own > lives each year we have the opportunity to find new meaning in the story > and how it drives passion, responsibility, self-organization and new > possibilities. Framing and re-framing. > > In some sense the history of Jews is a history of passion, responsibility > and self-organization. There are parts of the story that make me very > uncomfortable. Bad stuff happens sometimes, quite often when people (Jews > and non-Jews) are more focused on authority, boundaries and a rigid view of > the secular or religious meaning of the stories told by the story > tellers... Christians, Jews, Muslims and others. > > This year we will be adding a second Story of Oppression to our Seder. It > is a story of good and bad stuff happening for and to Jews in Uganda during > the time of Idi Ammin and a particular Passover. Yes, more passion, > responsibility, self-organization and the right people showing up. > > What I love most about OST, and why I have been using it as a part of my > work in communities and organizations for so many years, is how organic > (literally a reflection of natural systems from atoms to stars) the > principles are. For me opening space is an opportunity to invite people to > notice new things with the help of the right people - whoever that might > be, to create a new story rooted in passion and responsibility and make it > easier for good, new things to happen. > > Yes, I do understand that there are practical considerations we typically > call authority, boundaries, sponsorship, etc. related to opening space in > an organization setting, especially in communities or organizations where > OST is new. I also realize that I am spoiled. Here in Columbus, Ohio, USA > it is harder for me to find people who have not experienced OST than those > to have. > > I think the invitation for all of us is to resist limiting our sense of > what is possible when we encounter these terms in a client system or in our > own internal dialogues. When in doubt, reframe! > > -- > Please note that my new e-mail address is [email protected]. You > may also contact me by using the Contact Page at www.got2change.com. > > Shalom, > > Chris Kloth > ChangeWorks of the Heartland > [email protected] > www.got2change.com > phone - 614.239.1336 > fax - 614.237.2347 > > Think Globally, Act Locally > > Please think about the environment before printing this e-mail. > > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >
_______________________________________________ OSList mailing list To post send emails to [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
