Open Space & Anti-Americanism

Sun Feb 6 09:04:25 PST 2005

I am not quite sure how what I find myself thinking/writing here fits into
the discussion of "Open Space & Anti-Americanism" -- but there is a
connection, I am sure. Maybe I will find it? :-)

Several days ago I began a conversation with an engineer from Johns
Hopkins's University who is in some way responsible for a medical technology
development center. They have a number of issues, but at the core is a
mission to develop robotic technology for the treatment of disease. Pretty
far out, and multi-disciplinary with a vengeance! Anyhow, they thought a
little Open Space might be helpful. Far be it from me to disagree. Then this
engineer went on to say that he had been checking out various websites
(which ones I don't know) and said that he felt a little uneasy because some
of it sounded pretty weird and spiritual -- almost cult like. I told him
that I could certainly understand, but that he needed to realize that when
folks found themselves in Open Space (even engineers)doing what they really
loved to do, at a level of performance they would not have dreamed of, and
having fun besides -- they tended to become somewhat enthusiastic, maybe
even overly enthusiastic. And genuine enthusiasm in the world we live in may
seem a little strange. He said he got it -- and I think he did -- so I
didn't have to go on and point out that "enthusiasm" literally means being
"in God." (Greek: "en" - in "theos" - God). It was probably a very good
thing that I didn't have to proceed with my discourse which might well have
confirmed his original suspicions.

Where am I going will all this? Certainly my point is NOT to suggest any
restraint and censorship (even self-imposed) here on OSLIST. We are what we
are, and I just love it. But it is probably useful to consider every so
often just how other folks might hear our conversations. What we take to be
normative experience they might perceive as totally off the wall. I see no
possibility of being anything less than enthusiastic about the power and
possibilities of the human spirit as that shows up every day and in just
about every Open Space. If that is outrageous, so be it. If I am outrageous,
well I guess that is just the way I am. Still and all, a little reflection
on the impact of my (our words) can be useful.

Oh yes -- now I am beginning to see the flow, and how my thoughts may have
wandered (played off?) from "Open Space & Anti-Americanism." As we do our
work in all the places and conditions that work takes us (all over the
world, for goodness sake!) it is understandable and probably inevitable that
we begin to associate Open Space with other realities and concerns in our
lives. If we find ourselves opposed, for whatever reason (and maybe very
good reasons) to such things as globalization, the right wing, the left
wing, liberals, conservatives, fundamentalists, atheists, warriors,
politicians, capitalists, bleeding hearts, new age crowd, animists or
environmentalists -- just to name a few, it is tempting to see such folks as
somehow outside of, or even opposed to, the principles of Open Space. In
some sense, of course, they may well be -- and in a deeper sense, nothing
could be further from the truth, I think.

After all, Open Space is not all that special or particular. If we are at
all correct in our understanding of the operative power, Open Space works
because self-organization works. And self-organization has been going on
ever since-- just about 14 billion years, or so they say. In the great
fabric of the cosmos, as it has self-organized itself from nothing to
whatever it is now, nothing is excluded (by definition). Everything, and
everybody has had a part to play, and all have contributed to this
incredible journey. In the moment, we may prefer Gandhi to Adolph Hitler (I
certainly would) or Martin Luther King to George Bush ("w"). But from the
vantage point of 14 billion years of cosmic history all of these people are
just blips along the way. Sorry George, but no matter what you may think of
yourself and your role in history, you are just a blip. And of course, this
14 billion year history may be just a blip as well -- who knows. But I for
one am just enthralled with the majesty and beauty of the story. Quite a
show! And it was/is all done by blips!

So where does that leave us? I guess what I am thinking is that when we
presume to Open Space (facilitate an Open Space) it is probably worth while
to remember that the space, in fact, has been open for some time -- all
without our help and assistance. It is our privilege to remember that fact,
and perhaps to help our fellow humanoids to remember it as well, if not at
the level of conscious understanding, then at least at the level of
experience. And experience, after all is the best teacher.

Our act of remembrance has some possibly strange characteristics. For me it
is all about showing up, being fully present, telling the truth, and letting
it all go. Or worse -- being totally present and absolutely invisible. Does
that mean, then, that there is no place for overt action on our part? If so,
major portions of my life as a social activist, and there have been more
than a few, all stand in stark contrast, not to say contradiction, to what I
have been talking about here. Possible for sure, but I don't feel that way.
However, I do feel the necessity to recognize that when I join a picket
line, actively advance a particular political agenda, and the like -- I am
actually filling up space. Or said another way, I am intentionally becoming
an agent in the ongoing process of self organization. Frankly, I would do no
different, but I must recognize that I too am just a blip, if that.

If I were to put all this together, it would come out something like the
following. Holding space and being an activist are two ends of a spectrum,
and attempting to do both at the same time usually gets you in trouble, if
not in schizophrenia. But the ends of the spectrum are always connected, and
at any given time we (certainly I) find ourselves somewhere along the way.
If my intent is to Open Space, I must let go as much as possible all
thoughts of action, and a 14,000,000,000 year perspective can be very
helpful. And when I choose to act, I must do so with every ounce of passion
and talent at my disposal, even though I take up a lot of space. And the 14
billion year perspective is still helpful. I am still a blip, and a very
small one at that.

Wow! If my new engineer friend were to read all this stuff, who knows what
he might come to think about Open Space? But you can't be perfect.

Harrison

Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland   20845
Phone 301-365-2093

Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm
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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of David
William McKay
Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2005 7:56 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Open Space & Anti-Americanism

Sorry I'm on digest so can't refer to a specific posting.

Someone linked to an article and said something like:  Anti-americanism
is dead. Or some such. I agree there's nothing to be gained from
anti-americanism. Speaking from the pacifist side of the open-space I'm
glad we finally are seeing nudges towards democracy in Iraq. But I also
find it hard to see how anyone in favour of collaborative organizational
change -- which is what I take open-space to be -- could feel all that
comfy with a war justified by lies and false intelligence.

War is always about changing the government of another nation-state by
killing its citizens. That's about as far from collaborative change as
you can get. It may at times be necessary. But when it is -- surely the
ideal in a democratic state is to have a meaningful conversation about
what counts as necessary so the management team (aka the Executive
Branch) can have a mandate based upon informed consent.

If I was an American -- I'm a Canuck -- I would be worried about the
situation. Perhaps I have it bass-ackwards. But in wartime survival
dictates "my country right or wrong" but in peacetime democracy dictates
that the citizenry place democracy itself as the priority.

David McKay

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