SOS for OS! [long]

[Lisa Heft]

Hi, dear Frank –

 

You wrote, describing your frustration about helping others see the OS
light
:

<You make me laugh Lisa, calling me a crankypants! I can get so crankypants
about OS and I hate that. It blocks me from finding creative solutions and
making the quality of connections that could lead to productive
organizational transformation. I had a good nap today during some of the
committee meetings and got some good writing done. I also had a few
inspiring side conversations. I've also had some ideas for how I can invite
OS into this organization down the line through a more productive kind of
long term dialogue and relationship building. I just get so impatient
sometimes.> 



Well that made me laugh in return.  For any of you who may have met Frank
(who for this time and space has elevated himself to the title of Senior
Crankypants – not
Señor Crankypants, Frank?) – the title I feel more closely
describes Frank is Mr. WonderPants.  

 

Frank, you have such a joyful appreciation for co-learning, for discovery,
for play 
 and you are dedicated to making the world more wonderful though
our care for each other and for Mother Earth.

 

Having said that, I understand your impatience.  

 

You know how it seems as if people do not think of using facilitators until
something is really breaking or hurting too much?  To me, it is like how so
many people do not focus on proactive wellness but wait until their arm is
falling off before they go see a doctor or shift their diet.  Humans, we are
delightful creatures, but we sometimes do not remember things our bodies may
already know.  And we let our little brains make logical decisions, thinking
that is the smartest way to be.

 

And what is it that the American comedian Emo Phillips says about the brain,
dear Eric Lilius?

 

“I used to think the brain was the most wonderful organ in the body.

 

And then I realized it was telling me this.”

 

So we have big hearts (which we sometimes don’t listen to) and big brains
and we forget that spirit, intuition, possibility, potential, breath, joy,
connection, co-creation
is even bigger.

 

Sometimes people don’t think of using Open Space until things really hurt,
everything else they have tried has failed, and they have no other options.


 

Sometimes when I’ve facilitated a conference in Open Space a great number of
participants have said in Closing Circle that they never want to go back to
the conventional way of being in a conference again.  And then the
conference host never does OS again because they did not feel comfortable
with the loss of (perceived) control.

 

Sometimes I have done an Open Space conference-within-a-conference and it
has sucked all the most interesting people out of the regular conference,
because there was room to breathe, to name, to puzzle over, to share, to
ponder.

 

Sometimes it has taken me years to gently revisit the idea of Open Space for
a certain conference each year, and for the first few years there is no
interest, then I get to do a little ‘mini’, then a bigger ‘mini’, then a
mid-sized OS, and so it grows.

 

Sometimes after doing OS for years at a conference suddenly there will be a
new conference (or organizational) coordinator and they will decide to drop
OS because the new person in charge wants to make their mark (be known for
changing the design).

 

Breathe
.let go
.breathe
let
go
breathe
dance-play-work-share-explore-discover-celebrate
let go


 

 

 

Pardon my ramble.

 

On a more practical note: I have found that naming other similar situations



 

‘so-and-so intentional community has used OS in this way’

 

‘so-and-so co-housing community used OS for such-and-such’

 

‘you know, you can do a totally participant-driven knowledge and resources
exchange conference which is also a model used around the world for
sustainability, and it only takes 1 facilitator and it takes all the
headache out of handling proposals and selecting presenters’

 


is useful, as is naming certain deliverables that the person you are
talking with would be interested in.  

 

 

Mrs. I-believe-in-youPants

___________________________

L i s a   H e f t

Consultant, Facilitator, Educator

O p e n i n g  S p a c e

 <mailto:lisaheft at openingspace.net> lisaheft at openingspace.net

 <http://www.openingspace.net> www.openingspace.net 

 


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