Calling the Circle

[John Dicus]

Calling The Circle is, to me, a beautiful and graceful book.  It is nice to
see it mentioned and quoted.  As for the concepts mentioned in the book
working in large groups, I heard of an instance where 500 people met to
speak about issues important to Native Americans.  A friend told me that the
space was literally "charged" as all 500 voices were heard and blended.

One of my favorite quotes is in "Calling The Circle," by Annie Dillard...

There is no one but us.

There is no one to send,
     nor a clean hand nor a pure heart
     on the face of the earth,
     nor in the earth,
     but only us,

A generation comforting ourselves with the notion
     that we have come at an awkward time,
     that our innocent fathers are all dead  -
     as if innocence had ever been  -
     and our children busy and troubled,

And we ourselves unfit,
     not yet ready,
     having each of us chosen wrongly,
     made a false start, failed,

Yielded to impulse and the tangled comfort of pleasures,
     and grown exhausted,
     unable to seek the thread,
     weak and involved.

But there is no one but us.

There never has been.


Warm regards,

John Dicus

--

John Dicus  |  CornerStone Consulting Associates
-- Bringing Systems To Life --
2761 Stiegler Road, Valley City, OH 44280
800-773-8017  |  330-725-2728 (2729 fax)
http://www.ourfuture.com  |  mailto:jdicus at ourfuture.com