Law of what?... and a self-introduction

[Philip Joseph]

Hi.  My name is Philip Joseph. I've been following this listserv from here
in the UK since doing an OpenSpace training with Harrison about 18 months
ago.  I'd like to throw something into the pot here, so thank you Maggie for
inspiring me and giving me a reason to unlurk.  Thank you also to all of you
who contribute here, for your wisdom, openness, and passion.  I have found
comfort and challenge for my own practice in this community since I joined
it, at the beginning of a process which lead to me leaving a Big 5
consulting practice and going freelance a couple of months ago - the "law of
what" in action.

I'm feeling surprised at the strength of my resistance to a "law of
mobility".  Exploring that, I discover that mobility is pretty peripheral to
what the law of two feet (under that title) means to me.  My take is that
the law is about personal responsibility.  Being where you need to be is
about more than physical presence, absence and movement.  I guess I 'm
saying in different words what Ralph said - "mobility" 'has no emotional
guts'. Or at least, not the same emotional guts that the Law is about (to
me, obviously).  And, yes, pragmatically, in a particular openspace people
live that value (of self-responsibility) through movement, and that message
also needs to be heard.  But I wasn't drawn to OpenSpace because it's a
great way to facilitate loads of people - I got hooked in MY guts because
it's the way I wish to live in the world.  And I can't see "The Law of
Mobility" as part of that.



----- Original Message -----
From: Maggie Shreve <Magshreve at aol.com>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2000 6:27 PM
Subject: Re: Law of what?


> Actually, I started using the law of mobility when I first encountered
Open
> Space with Harrison in Baltimore at the ODN conference -- when was that?
> Like 1994?
>
> I've worked with people who have significant disabilities for 25 years and
I
> knew, immediately, that law of 2 feet would offend them....perhaps to the
> extent that people in wheelchairs or without legs would not participate in
> Open Space.  So, language is important -- but for different people at
> different times and different reasons.  (And someday I'll tell you about
the
> Open Space Hugh Huntington did in Washington where we struggled mightily
to
> accommodate all the people with hearing disabilities who needed microphone
> access in a ballroom setting...NOT good.)
>
> Frankly, I was thrilled to see that the law of mobility has kinda stuck
> around.
>
> Maggie Shreve
> Magshreve at aol.com
>