Reflections at 100

Mon May 2 22:48:17 PDT 2005

Chris,

Your idea to take a time lapse film of an open space is genius. 

For those that have facilitated a few, we can imagine what it would look 
like. To a prospect who is considering whether to take the "risk" of doing 
OS, it would be a powerful presentation of the power and simplicity of what 
organizations experience in the OS environment.

bo

On 4/30/05, Chris Corrigan <chris.corrigan at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Colleagues:
> 
> I just completed what looks to be my 100th Open Space event. It's hard to 
> know, what with little ones in trainings and the odd spotaneous one and all 
> the other bits and pieces that comes with living in Open Space, but it's 
> sufficiently close to call it 100. It's been 10 years since I stumbled on 
> OST, 6 years since I've really undertaken the practice of facilitating OST, 
> and with the completion of today's event, it feels like a bit of a 
> milestone. 
> 
> So I'm marking it with appreciations a reflection and a request..
> 
> First, Harrison. I was explaining the two martini story again today to a 
> participant who was looking around the room at the wonderful synergy 60 
> people were creating and she remarked that there is no way something so 
> intricate could have been born at the bottom of a martini glass. I just 
> smiled and said that Harrison is a trickster. He is a raven that brought 
> light into the world. He likes shiny things and olives. That troublsome 
> curiosity combined with an incredibly razor sharp brain and a deep 
> understanding of the subsonic notes in the human story made the two martini 
> moment possible. In dozens of OST events, when I explain to people 
> Harrison's story, they express immense appreciation for the way in which OST 
> was offered to the world. And so I'd like to pay these forward and add to it 
> my undying respect and affection for giving it all a name.
> 
> Thank you Harrison.
> 
> And then there are those at whose knees I have sat and learned my craft, 
> and that includes Birgitt Williams in a formal way and my mentors near and 
> far, like Peggy Holman, Larry Peterson, Father Brian Bainbridge, Alan 
> Stewart, Anne Stadler, Lisa Heft, Avener Haramati, Toke Moeller, and dozens 
> and dozens of you who have generously helped me make my practice come alive. 
> What a lucky community of people we are to have this crowd in our midst. Do 
> you guys know how lucky we are? We are VERY lucky indeed. 
> 
> Then there are my partners in crime, like Laurel Doersam who was insane 
> enough to join me and co-host OSonOS IX in 2001 which was an undertaking not 
> unlike telling jokes to comedians. Michael Herman, my co-conspirator in a 
> global and sometimes virtual firm of ideas, work, trainings, practice, 
> coaching, writing and sleeping in each other's offices, has taught me more 
> about incorporating OST into life than anyone. Chris Robertson, a long time 
> co-creator of OST events and people like David Stevenson and Julie Smith, 
> and Kate Sutherland and Te Rehia Tapata-Stafford are all sponsors the rest 
> of you would fight me for. They are brave and risk taking and supportive and 
> exhibit that same kind of curiosity that the raven does.
> 
> And you all on the list - the profound and profane, the teachers and 
> learners, the ones with questions and the ones with answers, storytellers, 
> researchers, poets, schemers, sly and wily provocateurs cuight in the cut 
> and thrust of wit and exploration and support with no small amount of 
> humour, compassion and affection. A warm, warm group of people and none of 
> us can say that we would be the same without being members of this 
> community. Thank you colleagues for your years of advice to date and the 
> years of advice to come. 
> 
> And so, if you have made it this far, here is the one thing I am 
> reflecting on after doing 100 of these things:
> 
> What is the depth at work here? How is it that 60 people can organize an 
> agenda in 20 minutes that wil carry them through a day and a half of the 
> most transformative dialogue some of them have ever experienced? Seriously. 
> Think about that. It should never be able to happen. After 100 events I 
> still can't figure it out. All I can see is that people are diving into 
> something so deep and untapped and limitless in resourcefulness, and when 
> they surface it's as if time has stopped, and all this stuff got done and 
> only 20 minutes has passed. I've heard people call it Spirit, and my Elders 
> have maybe a better word for it: "manitoo," which in Ojibway means both 
> spirit and mystery. Still, happy as I am to leave it at mystery, I can see 
> it, taste it and feel it at work in OST gatherings, and I'm more and more 
> curious about it, especially the sense that whatever it is it exhibits 
> DEPTH. Real, tangible depth. Whaddya think?.
> 
> And finally, here is my wish for something to happen sometime in the next 
> 100: I'd like someone to make a time lapse movie of an OST event filmed from 
> high above the room, showing all the activity that springs out of the 
> stillness of that circle, moves through the agenda setting, the entire self 
> organization part and back into a close. In the middle of all that, or more 
> likely off to the side, would be one still figure: an Open Space facilitator 
> moving slowly or resting in the midst of all the chaos and activity. Would 
> that be the coolest training video ever or what? It's all we'd ever need to 
> show.
> 
> A hearty thank you to all. 
> 
> With much love respect and affection,
> 
> Chris
> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> CHRIS CORRIGAN
> Consultation - Facilitation
> Open Space Technology
> 
> Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot
> Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com * * 
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