open space as an oxymoron?

[Harrison Owen]

Rather than an oxymoron I would think paradox. Space in our experience
exists because it is bounded. No boundary -- no OPEN space. But the critical
thing is the nature of that boundary. If it is, or becomes, immovable we get
in trouble. Life is limited, and eventually dies. Or worse, if we perceive a
boundary to be immovable (when it is not) we effectively self limit our life
possibilities. Boundaries, it seems to me, provide definition and identity.
If I am everything, I am nothing at all. Boundaries have a positive effect.
On the other hand, immovable boundaries lead to stifled lives, dogmatism,
and rigid orthodoxy. Not the sort of life I would have in mind for myself or
anybody.

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
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html



-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Douglas D.
Germann, Sr.
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2005 10:38 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: open space as an oxymoron?

To my good friends--

A musing from this morning:

What we are about in open space is really not space but spaciousness, more
precisely spacelessness--no boundaries. Sure we talk of responsibility, but
that responsibility arises from the very spacelessness, the very openness.
Open space is an oxymoron: it is either bounded or open.

                              :-Doug. Germann
                              Seeking people making community change.
                              From a lightly raining South Bend, Indiana,
                              where we need the rain--and the unboundedness

*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist

*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist