whatever happens...

Tue Apr 24 05:59:19 PDT 2007

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 1st
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  <http://www.openspaceworld.com/> www.openspaceworld.com

Open Space Institute  <http://www.openspaceworld.org/>
www.openspaceworld.org

Personal website  <http://www.ho-image.com/> 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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