"That's an interesting thread you started, Daniel, about inviting
non-invitation."
Thank you kindly Lucas.
Daniel
On 9/2/15 9:47 AM, Lucas Cioffi via OSList wrote:
That's an interesting thread you started, Daniel, about inviting
non-invitation.
Harrison writes yesterday:
Here’s a thought... Space/time is infinite, defined by our minds,
and limited by our imagination. So “constraints” are only what you
make them out to be. AND... it is always nice to have as much
“space/time” as possible. A “genuine invitation” creates a LOT of
space/time.
*Do y'all think we are creating space or are we opening space? It's
an important distinction, because creating implies a win-win but
opening could be a win-lose situation. *I'd say none of us is ever
creating space, just opening it, and that someone or something is
always losing something else when we do.
*I'll do my best to explain...*
Instead of "creating space" I'd argue that instead we are "creating
space */for/*" because the space literally already exists. We are
creating opportunity for voices to be heard and for people to
participate. But in some indirect way a */space for X/* is at least
indirectly a /*space against Y*/. We are never actually creating new
space, instead we are creating "*/new space for/*" by marking that
space with an invitation/purpose, principles, and a law of two feet.
The space (the hotel conference room, the warehouse, etc) already exists.
I don't disagree, Harrison, that overall space/time might be
infinite–I don't know :) –but each of us is limited to being in one
physical space at a time, monitoring/interacting with a handful of
physical spaces virtually, and having 24 hours in a day. In that way
we'd all agree that space and time are nearly zero sum at a personal
scale, so when we open/create space for _________, and people accept
the invitation, we are decreasing energy and time spent some where
else. There is a cost. We don't talk about that, but I don't think
we forget that either.
So, to take this argument full circle (pun intended), I'd say that
whenever we open space, we do it by force. Space doesn't open on its
own (or does it?!-- what if we aren't really /opening/ space and the
space is already open, that we're just the first to see it?). Well,
even if space opens on its own and then if we're the first ones to
walk into it and invite others, we are still inviting by force–this
not a bad force or a coercive force, but it's a force nonetheless. We
know this, because we know how it requires force to launch an
invitation into the world. (Or is this not always the case? Can
someone invite by simply being?)
Any invitation displaces people's time: to read it (maybe just 30
seconds) and then much more time is displaced for people choose to
attend (an hour, a day, etc). What I'm trying to say is that I'm
beginning to see opening space more and more as active, forceful (in a
good way), and intentional. When we open space that was previously
closed, we are using force, and that might mean that someone else is
experiencing something else closing (the old order of business in an
organization or fewer people attending another event or doing
something that they would have otherwise been doing if they weren't
attending).
Bottom line: It's hard to argue with creating space because it looks
like a win-win, but somewhere someone or something is losing our time,
energy, and support in the short term. In the case of an organization
the person losing is the boss who wants to keep the old order of
things. When that situation isn't applicable, we're at least spending
time away from other things we could be doing such as tending to a
vegetable garden or taking Fido for a walk. *So it's always important
to keep in mind who/what is losing when we open space, and perhaps
using the phrase "creating space" is a good way to focus on the upside.*
Lucas Cioffi
Founder, QiqoChat.com <http://QiqoChat.com>
Charlottesville, VA
Mobile: 917-528-1831
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