i also super LOVE this thread....thank you Brendan for sharing..and all those
who replied...and shared..
Carms
True happiness is a state of mind.
Happiness is not a consequence of things that happen.
Do not pursue happiness - practice it.
Sing, even if you do not sound good.
Smile, even when things go wrong.
Create happiness, and happy you will be.
On Monday, 21 May 2018, 8:11:55 AM GMT+8, lucia pavia Ticzon via OSList
<[email protected]> wrote:
Love this thread ...
❤️🌸❤️~ luch
On Mon, May 21, 2018 at 6:01 AM R Chaffe via OSList
<[email protected]> wrote:
Brendon, we live and work in a land where water is precious. Billabongs are
often the life saving watering points when we travel much like an oasis in the
desert.
Billabongs are also parts of prior streams where the stream has taken a new
track and the billabong is cut off from surface flows of water yet they are fed
and nourished by underground water that seeps across the flood plane even when
the surface stream is non existent. Billabongs reminds me of the deep threads
that are part of a community that sustain it in the hard times. The billabong
is the evidence that this deep nourishment exists.
Some of these concepts are very familiar with Australians in the subconscious.
It must be fun to see people discover the deeper meanings of billabong.
For me I would use the the name as it will connect with peoples experience
after that I would let the participants take billabong where they choose. As
with the “message sticks” that are the indigenous passport and map every
group/tribe had different ways of describing the features of the map so to can
the group do the same.
Just as in the song “click go the shears” the spirt of the “swagman” remains in
the billabong to be heard now and then!
Billabong, just another way to have fun and connect with the community of
concern.
RegardsRob
On 21 May 2018, at 1:05 am, Brendan McKeague via OSList
<[email protected]> wrote:
Ahhhh, the billabong….thanks of asking.
The billabong in Australia is a water hole or pond where water is usually found
when the surrounding riverbed or land becomes dry - the last place to dry up in
an otherwise arid landscape - often will have a few trees or bushes around it.
I used to hear Aboriginal people speak of ‘knowing where the billabongs lay
along certain routes or about meetings for initiation and other business held
near certain billabongs. Also in the iconic Australian song, Waltzing Matilda,
there is reference to the ‘swagman' (traveller/rover/hobo) who ‘camped by a
billabong’. The term is well known and recognised in both Aboriginal and
‘whitefella’ culture.
In my early days of facilitating Open Space, I began to use the term billabong
as a place of ‘refreshment, relaxation, restoration, reflection, renewal etc’
where, having introduced the terms butterflies and bees (in Australia, I prefer
the term bee to distinguish from the European introduced ‘bumble bee’, regarded
as a pest and destroying habitats of native species), I speak about billabong
‘spaces or places’ where you can go and rest up should you find that you need a
break from the main meeting….maybe you’ve listened enough, talked enough, need
some silence, need to think about an upcoming conversation that you’ve
posted….find yourself a billabong space and refresh your energy. A billabong
space is where you wish to create it…outside under a tree, going for a stroll,
lounging on a beanbag, in a corner of the room or in the bar, anywhere you feel
comfortable to relax…varies according to where the OS meeting is held - I once
had someone tell me they spent 20mins in the toilet as it was the only
‘billabong’ space they could find!
I have also had people report that one or two others came and joined them in
their billabong and, guess what, the most wonderful thing happened….!
Billabongs are created, or not, in the very best of our self-organising
tradition…just as the river meanders along its own course and leaves little
pools of refreshment along the way for those who need it.
CheersBrendan
On 20 May 2018, at 5:09 PM, Marai Kiele via OSList
<[email protected]> wrote:
What a colourful and vivid story. Thank you Brendan for taking the time to
describe it so richly!
I got as curious as Jeff about the billabongs (first needed to look up the
word).Maybe there are a space where special flowers and animals can
flourish?Please fill us in :-)
Marai
Am 18.05.2018 um 09:54 schrieb Jeff Aitken via OSList
<[email protected]>:
Thank you. Very rich. Lots to appreciate here.
One initial question stands out: how do billabongs act in open space?
(We know about the butterflies and bees.) With thanks
JeffSan Francisco
On Fri, May 18, 2018, 12:38 AM Brendan McKeague via OSList
<[email protected]> wrote:
Hi folks
Here is a story (Irish style) of a recent Open Space meeting 'in disguise'. I
hope it adds something to our ongoing learning and collective wisdom.
CheersBrendan
Open Space as Yarning Space - an Australian story ContextA group of five
different ‘language/family groups’ wishing to pursue their intention of working
together to submit a claim for native title over a certain area of land that
their families had continuous connection with for many years. There was a
history of disagreement, division and destructive conflict between some of the
group during the past 10 years, illustrated by separate, competing claims over
parts of the area in question. They had arrived at a place where most of the
elders had decided it was time to work together otherwise their chances of
achieving a successful claim in the national Native Title Court would be
unlikely. In order to prepare themselves for the next steps in submitting a
formal legal claim over the region, they suggested it would be appropriate to
spend a couple of days together so that ‘they could sit and yarn' about the
issues that divided them in the past, about how they might reconcile with each
other and how they might work together in the future. The sponsor, a
representative of the regional Land Council that would be responsible for
resourcing the meeting, wondered if an Open Space style meeting would be
appropriate.
Naming the ProcessAnother part of the context was that the sponsoring body did
not have a favourable disposition towards Open Space. I’m not sure of the
details, although it sounded like someone in senior management had previously
experienced some sort of Open Space meeting and wasn’t impressed. My contact
within the system asked that we not call it an Open Space meeting. I was happy
to oblige and we came up with the loosely described notion of creating Yarning
Circles ('yarning circle' is frequently used in indigenous vocabulary in
Australia to describe a group, often referred to as 'a mob’, sitting in a
circle discussing/having a yarn about whatever mattered to them. So the
underlying concept was similar, without the structure of an OST meeting).
>From an introductory meeting with the family leaders, we formulated an
>invitation that asked the questions: ‘how will we work together AND respect
>our individual differences and identities?’
In describing the process, I simply renamed the main circle as the group
Yarning Circle, and the break-out spaces as Yarning Places…everything else
pretty much the usual set-up. I shortened the principles on the posters to
read: Right People; Right Time; Right Place; Right Yarning…the Law of Two Feet;
Butterflies, Bees and Billabongs; Be Prepared to Be Surprised…and linked my
introduction to each of these.
The EventThere was a lot of anticipation about what might happen. The
complexity of longstanding inter-familial, inter-generational disputes is well
known in the world of native title in Australia. Security guards were hired for
the meeting so that only those who were entitled to be there (another
interpretation of 'the right people') were admitted. This was to do with the
requirement that only those who are directly descended from the original
‘traditional owners’ of the particular areas are entitled to be part of the
discussions and eventual decision-making process. There are strict protocols
around anthropologist 'connection research’ to ensure that this is the case and
these reports often generate additional conflicts among family groups.
On the first morning of the two-day event, while people were beginning to
gather in the meeting space, there was a very animated and highly charged
interaction between two rather large men (I subsequently discovered these were
two brothers who had not spoken directly to each other for nearly ten years)
and this generated a burst of high tension energy. A security guard
intervened, in a very professional, low-key way, creating a pause between the
men and providing an opportunity for some of their mutual relatives (mostly the
older women) to exert a calming influence on them…fortunately, they seemed to
be well practiced at such interventions!
I was certainly wide awake now! Too soon for a nap…and I wondered, rather
nervously, how the rest of the meeting might go
The men calmed, the senior elder (one of the women) gave a ‘welcome to country’
asking that everyone in the room (about 60 participants) respect the ancestors,
and each other, during this very important time together. I was then invited
into the circle…I did my usual intro, with slight variations of language,
verbal and body, to adapt to my environment. A the end of my introduction, as I
usually do, I wished them well for the work of the day, handed the space over
to them and exited the circle….
As I was heading towards the edge of the meeting area, I noticed a couple of
people dive straight in the centre for their paper and pen…and to my surprise,
the first topic announced was from one of the family members of the feuding
brothers who invited the whole family to meet in the first session to sort out
the issues that had been dividing them for the past decade. And it was an
amazing ‘yarning place’…for much of an hour, there were loud voices, quiet
voices, shouting, tears, hugs, reconciliation, laughter, resolve and agreement
to disagree on what had caused their disturbances and, beyond that, agreement
to work together in the future so that they could contribute constructively to
the collective claim for Native Title….amazing to witness.
For the remainder of the first day, people wandered, sat, stood and lounged
around the room, energy and passion flitting and flowing in their own time,
with differing degrees of high intensity, laughter and lightness.
And for good measure, we also had a ‘space invasion’ in the afternoon, when
another group that had been seeking to prevent this combined claim going ahead,
and had convened a separate meeting in another part of the conference venue,
entered the space uninvited. Some of the leaders in the room stood up and
started towards the exit saying they would not stay while this new group was
there. In the pause of surprise and wonder, I could only think of asking a
question: ‘I don’t really know what’s happening here, would someone please
explain?’ That led to the incoming group, some of whom were related to the
meeting group, requesting to read out a short prepared statement to the meeting
group and then to leave. The meeting group agreed to listen. The statement was
delivered, there was silence and no return comments, the incoming group left
the room and the existing group spent the rest of the afternoon discussing how
they would respond to the information in the statement…a new agenda emerged for
Day Two.
The second day of the meeting saw the group working together in the Yarning
Circle, as an extension of ‘morning news’, for the first part of the morning,
then breaking out into yarning places in response to new issues that were
emerging. After a stretched-out lunch, the group converged to feed back the
Action Plans before a very emotional, enthusiastic and energised closing circle
(that included a short impromptu dance of celebration…)
The OutcomeOn the next day, following the two day Yarning Circle, there was a
formal meeting with their legal representatives to ratify agreements made and
provide instructions to be taken forward into the due process for native title
claimants. Needless to say, this meeting was nothing like an Open Space
meeting. However, the group on the previous afternoon had decided how they
wanted the room to be set up for the formal meeting and, guess what, they chose
to have five different circles for each of the five family groups and one
centre circle for the elders from each group to enter when it came to
delivering decisions to the legal representatives…creating a very different
environment from the usual 'top table and rows'. That’s another story!
Concluding ReflectionsA few thoughts: the presenting context seemed suitable
for Open Space; the meeting methodology was renamed, the underlying structure
was retained; the conflictual energy that appeared prior to the meeting
provided a catalyst for release of built-up tension and the courage to address
what had caused it by those who lived within it; the stunning significance of
self organisation at work, developing resilience to cope with a potential
distracting/de-railing invasion; the use of the opportunity (the space
invasion) to generate new agenda, to strategise and commit for the follow-up
formal legal meeting (a complex adaptive system at work?); the presenting signs
of relationship building, collective commitment and deeper levels of trust.
Sponsor feedback
1) Why did you chose to use Open Space?
We held a two day OS community consultation followed by a native title
authorisation meeting. For the community consultation we needed an approach
that allowed for a general theme, linked to progressing a native title claim,
that allowed for the native title group to work out for themselves the best way
to work together on a native title claim and beyond. OS provided the
environment for this to occur.
2) What did you notice about the process, the engagement and the outcomes
in this particular context?
The OS approach to the meeting allowed for the attendees to take ownership of
the direction of the two day meeting and, as a result, the
outcomes/undertakings that were generated. In turn, the outcomes provided a
roadmap for how the different traditional factions within the larger native
title group could effectively cooperate while acknowledging and respecting
differences. The outcomes will feed into the rule book and policy manual for
the corporation earmarked to be the PBC. We used some OS concepts to good
effect in the authorisation meeting.
3) What did you learn from this experience?
That our clients can truly benefit from an OS meeting and that certain elements
of OS can be introduced even into meetings with an agenda prescribed by
legislation. I am convinced that an OS meeting should be convened early in the
process of working with a native title group, particularly if there are
internal divisions. If used properly, I consider OS could also be useful in
some overlapping claims.
Who knows what will happen next…indeed, that's not ours to know in the complex
and mysterious world of emergence!
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