Palestinians and Israelis in Rome - long

[Joelle Lyons Everett]

In a message dated 6/14/02 5:35:59 AM, owenhh at mindspring.com writes:

<<          My intention and hope was to totally open the space so that people
could honestly choose where they wanted to go -- even if that meant simply
hanging up the towel and going home in disgust. And frankly I did not have
a clue what was going to happen when I left the circle, or what the
situation would be upon my return. As it turned out whatever happens is the
only thing that could have -- and as usual it was just perfect -- perfectly
what it was. Given the space, the folks always know best.
 >>

Thanks, Harrison, for sharing your reflections and learnings on this.  One of
my guiding principles in facilitative work is that whenever there are strong
feelings in the room, I need to make space for people to deal with
them--there is very little chance that whatever I had planned, in advance,
has a chance of succeeding unless I take the reality of the people in front
of me into account.

Whatever went on on Day 1--the euphoria of being in a safe space or testing
the water with less-risky feelings and issues--it prepared the way for the
deeper and more painful work of Day 2.  Which made Day 3 possible.

The image of your willingness to learn, and abandon your best plans in the
moment, in a difficult, high-stakes situation, gives me courage to trust my
gut when things get tough!

Thanks for being who you are, and for sharing your journey with your friends.

Joelle

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