life, education, and OST

Bernd Weber weberb at gmx.at
Sat Sep 14 04:34:24 PDT 2002


Hi Julie and all

during the last weeks I had so much to do here in Mozambique (my work
as an OD consultant) and in Zimbabwe (trying to understand what
happens, getting data, writing a text which reflects my slowly
growing understanding of the co-responsibility system for the actual
crisis there) , that I left the os-list discussion aside.
I also had to remember September 11, 1973 when September 11, 2001 was
globally remembered...
Yes, and thank you Ann for your great re-framing text and those who
saw immedeately how to use your text to broaden the necessary
knowledge of such positions at different other
national/political/media/institutional levels.

Just now, Saturday, no urgent work to do, I am rapidly going through
the about 100 os-list-postings I collected without reading.

I love the democracy-os discussion.
But if I would start to participate in that discussion I fear i would
be unable to stop.

Because in trying to open space in a country with a very recent
consensus on democracy (which seems to be one of the definitions of
it being at least a common vision, since it is not yet here on earth
materialized-Stop!) this question is even more important to be
adressed than in other countries. E.g. holding up hands to vote is
really seen as THE democracy here-Stop!)

Anyhow, your very personal posting touched me deeply.
I also try. And feel well and better with letting go!

Thanks

Bernd

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weberb at gmx.at, on 14.09.2002 at 13:11:29 (GMT/UT + 02:00)
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On Sat, 7 Sep 2002 12:19:10 -0800, Julie Smith wrote:
>Greetings, all ~
>
>I think I've come to a resting place with the knotty problem of how
>to integrate who I am with what I do for a living.  Since so many of
>you have helped me on this journey, I want to share my current
>thoughts with you.
>
>I'm working on letting go and letting be.  I'm imagining letting go
>of text books and training manuals, letting go of expectations for
>what will happen on any given day or in any given moment, letting go
>of rushing and grasping, of trying to define what can't be defined.
>I want to let go of external props that interfere with my internal
>knowing and my ability to respond in the present to what is
>happening in the present.  And I want to let myself be who I am....
>quieter, calmer, more fully aware of myself and others.
>
>In the doing of all that, I'm thinking about working backward (only
>backward might really be forward).  That means entering the room
>each day thinking first about people as people..... being aware of
>the energy, the vibe, the spoken and unspoken needs of the people in
>the room....  perhaps giving time and space for an opening each day,
>an opportunity for connecting, sharing, attuning.... and not
>expecting to progress on any other level until the group has started
>feeling like a community (engaged conversation, caring, connection,
>sparkling eyes, laughter....)  During this community-building time
>OST and play are two tools we can use to reach a place of deeper
>understanding and authentic caring.....
>
>......and then allowing the learning to flow across many paths.....
>learning about each other (and thus learning how to listen and
>learning that each person has unexpected depth and wisdom....
>surprise!)....
>learning about how we communicate and how we deal with conflict,
>about the choices we have and the choices we make, about how we can
>help others find their way through conflict.... learning how to
>learn with rather than learning from....
>
>......and perhaps ending each day with a closing, a time to reflect
>and share the learnings of the day.....
>
>These are all things we're already doing in a rather haphazard way.
>The difference for me is naming the priorities and getting things in
>their proper order.  When I started doing this work, I thought my
>task was to teach people the theory, techniques, and skills of
>mediation.  My frustration stemmed from not knowing how to go deep
>enough to get at what really matters.  None of the skills and
>techniques matter a whit unless the person/mediator is coming from a
>deeper place of caring and compassion.  This is a place that can't
>be talked about meaningfully until it's been experienced.  It can be
>shared with but it can't be told to.  But how to get to that deeper
>place in a classroom?  It seems so simple and yet so hard.... don't
>attempt to describe to, but rather experience with..... which simply
>requires following the unfolding that leads us there....
>
>I think OST will become both explicit and implicit in the way I
>work.
>It's important to make it explicit because doing so helps break the
>institutional trance and invites creative thinking about what's
>possible.  I also think it's important that it be implicit, in the
>sense that it doesn't always need to be named.  We don't always need
>to call what we're doing OST.  We can just interact with each other
>naturally in new ways that don't require entering any kind of
>structured process.
>I'm imagining a classroom that works a lot like the OSLIST.  Because
>people on this list have integrated the principles into who we are,
>we can just use them without need for planning, posters, themes,
>invitations, or designated marketplace.  I think groups of people in
>classroom communities can do the same.
>
>My challenge is to slow down, to trust, to allow the unfolding....
>
>I'm extraordinarily fortunate to be surrounded by people who are
>searching for the same kinds of connection and learning I desire.
>It's an amazing thing.  Everywhere I turn, I hear "yes."  Yes is an
>invitation to deep learning, to becoming who we are.  Such a great
>gift in such a small package..... yes.
>
>Julie
>
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