Only "so long" (Long)

Chris Corrigan chris.corrigan at gmail.com
Mon May 30 12:50:04 PDT 2005


Ralph:

I was reflecting the other day that what is alive in me as a consultant is 
the communities I work with, the First Nations and Aboriginal communities 
around British Columbia here. And although I am from Ontario, and Ojibway is 
my ancestry, I am a part of the larger Aboriginal community out here. As 
such, I have always viewed my work as one part service and one part 
learning, as I gather skills and thoughts and ideas from around the world, 
through my own networks to enhance the capacity of the Aboriginal community 
here in Canada. I'm a small piece of the work, and there are many others in 
my circle who are doing the same. Together, we find that having this 
community, in which we are rooted and for whom we are working, is the 
greatest gift.

The urge towards community IS a human trait. I think as consultants we run 
the danger of removing ourselves from community in order to practice at arms 
length from the communities with whom we are working. But I guard against 
that in my own practice. Once in a while, I work outside of my "community," 
in the corporate financial services sector, with oil companies or in the 
sustainability world. But I'm always there with eyes that learn and bring 
back gifts that feed the work being done by countless leaders, activists and 
facilitators in the Aboriginal community. And in doing that I can bring the 
gifts of the Aboriginal community into other parts of the world too.

We should be called weavers, I love that image that has cropped up here 
lately. We do weave the connections between diverse groups of people in a 
tapestry of openness, giving and work. We are far more similar than we would 
all like to believe, and it's only through bringing our conditioned eyes to 
new worlds that we learn and understand that.

Have a great journey, and bellow a brazen and fullsome hello to us when you 
return!

Chris



CHRIS CORRIGAN
Consultation - Facilitation
Open Space Technology

Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot
Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com

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