FW: [OSLIST] whatever happens...

Tue Apr 24 07:30:32 PDT 2007

From: Deborah Hartmann [mailto:deborah at hartmann.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 10:23 AM
To: hhowen at verizon.net
Subject: Re: [OSLIST] whatever happens...

 > Life, of course, is filled with throwaways. Some stick around and 
others depart.

The wording of this makes me think of the (apocryphal?) story of the 
invention of Post-Its - a failed adhesives experiment at 3M, so I've 
heard. A throw-away. But it fit a need... and has changed how we work! 
It literally "stuck around" :-)

Harrison Owen wrote:
>
> It is interesting (funny, odd, strange) how words, once casually 
> spoken, take on a life of their own, and somehow or another possess a 
> depth of meaning that was totally invisible in the moment of speaking. 
> The phrase, "Whatever happens is the only thing that could have," was 
> just a throwaway, but it seemed to fit.
>
> I suppose it would be nice if I could tell you that each of the 
> Principles, along with the Law of Two Feet, were the direct result of 
> profound and careful thought. Maybe it would be more "socially 
> (academically) acceptable if their origin were rooted in an extensive 
> consideration of life in all of its aspects, with due deference given 
> to the age old polarities of freedom and determinism, self and world, 
> being and non-being, just to name a few. Then I could announce that 
> after many years of deep meditation on the mountain top I have come to 
> pronounce the core understandings - the essential principles and the 
> one law. Nice, but total fabrication! The genesis, in fact was quite 
> different. It just seemed to be the right thing in the moment.
>
> Life, of course, is filled with throwaways. Some stick around and 
> others depart. What is the difference? I think the difference is the 
> way in which a phrase (or even one word) assumes a life of its own in 
> a community. There never was an "authorized text" - and for sure The 
> Community (whatever that was/is) never sat down in formal process to 
> determine the correct words. Rather like pebbles in a brook worn by 
> the passage of waters, some words are polished and smoothed to reveal 
> a deeper glow, and some are shattered to become sand and mud - all 
> taking place as the currents of community usage pass on by.
>
> I think it is probably important to note that the Principles and The 
> law were never prescriptive - as in telling people what they should 
> do. They are in fact descriptive - simply noting what will take place 
> anyhow. Even if we have been taught, trained, coerced, believe the 
> opposite - the principles and the law seems to be true. And for that 
> reason alone they are always troubling. They seem wrong, counter 
> intuitive, and definitely not according to our plans - but that is the 
> way it is. Or so it has seemed for 20 years.
>
> I can remember times when there was intense discussion about the 1^st 
> Principle (Whoever comes is the right people). People would say - Does 
> that mean that those who don't come are the wrong people? Are they 
> somehow bad, evil, and monstrous? Not at all! But the fact of the 
> matter is that they didn't care to come. No judgment made concerning 
> their moral status - just a simple statement of fact. They didn't care 
> to come. And what makes the people present the "right people?" Another 
> statement of fact - They did care to come.
>
> So where does that leave us? I guess the conversation continues, and 
> the waters in the brook continue to do their work. Actually I really 
> like, "Whatever happens is the only thing that did." Makes me smile 
> too! And maybe I will give it a try and see how it passes over my 
> lips. But then again, I rather like the old one. Perhaps I am getting 
> older and set in my ways (all true) - but somehow the "could have" has 
> a useful jarring quality. Upon first hearing it surely sounds like 
> pure determinism - we are all locked in a prefigured universe which is 
> just rolling over us. But there is also a smile there too. And beneath 
> the smile is a recognition that given the constraints and forces of 
> the instant what happened was the only possible result. Given 
> different forces and constraints the results would be totally 
> different - but all that is just hypothetical. We could just sit here 
> and say ain't it awful, our freedom is denied, the dice have been 
> thrown. OR - we could pay very close attention to the present moment 
> and discover that even though it isn't what we expected, planned on, 
> or hoped for - there are in fact some incredible, rich opportunities 
> present which have never existed previously. So rather than 
> constraining our freedom, it is expanded in ways and directions we had 
> never even dreamed about. I like that one.
>
> Harrison
>
> Harrison Owen
>
> 7808 River Falls Drive
>
> Potomac, Maryland 20854
>
> Phone 301-365-2093
>
> Skype hhowen
>
> Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com 
> <http://www.openspaceworld.com/>
>
> Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org 
> <http://www.openspaceworld.org/>
>
> Personal website www.ho-image.com <http://www.ho-image.com/>
>
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> -----Original Message-----
> *From:* OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] *On Behalf Of 
> *John Engle
> *Sent:* Monday, April 23, 2007 9:22 PM
> *To:* OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> *Subject:* whatever happens...
>
> Hi fellow listers.
>
> I know that some have been through this hundreds of times but I'm 
> wanting to get the most recent reflections on the principle:
>
> Whatever happens is the only thing that could've.
>
> My colleagues in Haiti and I continue to have smart people from a 
> variety of cultures let us know that this principle doesn't sit well 
> with them.
>
> It communicates fatalism to some instead of encouraging 
> responsibility. While i'm totally comfortable with the principle, if 
> enough people tell me that it communicates something to them that is 
> different than what i'm trying to communicate, there's a problem.
>
> For me, what's worse is that often times people remember it as: "What 
> happens is that which is supposed to happen" or "There's a reason for 
> everything that happens." This can have us sounding like Christian 
> fundamentalist.
>
> We've been experimenting in Haitian Creole and in English with this:
>
> What Happens is what happens - learn and move forward.
>
> Here's an example of a text that would explain this principle:
>
> This principle helps us to not lament over should'ves, to not wallow 
> in regrets. We're all responsible for how we use our time and space 
> together during this meeting. Let's assume that responsibility and be 
> prepared to accept what happens and to continually strive to learn and 
> to keep moving forward.
>
> i covet your thoughts.
>
> John
>
>
>
>
> www.johnengle.net <http://johnengle.net> Open space facilitation
> www.circlesofchange.com <http://circlesofchange.com> Participatory 
> learning and leadership
> www.harvesttime.cc <http://harvesttime.cc> Harvesting for justice that 
> all may have enough
>
> telephone Haiti: 509-461-3067
>
> email: john at johnengle.net
> telephone: 202-236-6532
> fax: 202-449-8343
>
> John Engle
> P.O. Box 337
> Hershey, PA 17033 * * 
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-- 

Deborah Hartmann
Agile Process Coach
deborah AT hartmann DOT net
mobile: fouronesix 996 4337

"Learn the principle, 
abide by the principle, and 
dissolve the principle." 
-- Bruce Lee

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