A Tribute to Ralph

Sat Jan 8 09:12:25 PST 2011

Dear Barry and others,
Thank you so much for sharing Ralph with us as you have through your
stories, anecdotes and tributes.  Ralph is someone I so looked forward to
meeting next week.   It will not happen now but somehow it has…in a
different, special and moving way.  I know that his spirit, his vibrancy,
and his gifts will be part of our Peace and High Performance gathering in
New York and rather than sadness, void and disappointment, I feel the
intensity of his  presence and that of a community and collective which will
have a very special place in this very special Open Space.

A heartfelt thank you. Suzanne

On Sat, Jan 8, 2011 at 9:50 AM, Barry Owen <barryo at comcast.net> wrote:

>
> http://paretorealty.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/%e2%80%9ceverything-is-moving-everything-is-moving-%e2%80%9d/
>
>  “Everything is Moving, Everything is moving.”
> Posted on January 8, 2011<http://paretorealty.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/%e2%80%9ceverything-is-moving-everything-is-moving-%e2%80%9d/>
> by Barry Owen <http://paretorealty.wordpress.com/author/barryo06/>
>
> My friend Ralph Copleman died a few nights ago.
>
> The world will be a different place for many people without Ralph being
> around to interject his provocative and insightful comments . . . and
> Poetry.
>
> I know Ralph as being a lover of life and a lover of people. While i have
> really only had the good fortune of spending a few short days with Ralph at
> a few conferences . . . and exchanging emails . . . and reading his
> occasional whimsical (and DEEP) posts on the listserve he frequented) . . .
> Ralph has been a consistent mentor for me. He’s always been there for me
> (and so many others) when it was time to see through all of the noise and
> find true authentic meaning in the NOW.
>
> I love Ralph and considered him to be “My favorite Uncle” . . . Never
> fearful of saying the wrong things . . . Passionate follower of his own
> heart . . . Always willing to step in and DO when others cower from the
> daunting tasks at hand.
>
> I believe that the best way I can honor Ralph is to share 3 of my favorite
> quotes from him. You’ll find those below the following very appropo “eulogy”
> for one of his friends and colleagues.
>
> “He was diagnosed with lymphoma in the spring but it was treated and under
> control. All was well until he got an unexplained fever this week. He went
> into distress and his organs failed.
>
> Ralph was 65. He had celebrated his 60th birthday with a
> memorable coast-to-coast bicycle ride during which he included many of us
> vicariously by sending email stories of his adventures from the Rockies,
> across the Great Plains, and all the way home.
>
> He was for many years an OD (Organizational Development) consultant and
> large group practitioner. He organized FS (Future search) Network pro bono
> training in New Jersey and helped do the same in Seattle and D.C. In Berrien
> County, MI, he co-facilitated a critical business sector FS that contributed
> to the turn-around of that community.
>
> Some years ago he gave up general consulting to become a sustainability
> advocate, organizing Future Searches to that end, founding an ongoing
> organization, Sustainable Lawrence (NJ), in his home town and helping other
> communities do likewise . . .
>
> It is hard to comprehend that we have lost Ralph’s advice and support.
> Ralph’s was a voice for all things humane, just, daring and loving, for
> people and our planet. He was usually among the first responders to
> strategic questions on the listserve, He was full of encouragement,
> practical advice, and provocative questions. He was quick to share his broad
> experience and systems knowledge. He was one of the early integrators of
> Future Search and Open Space. He saw that each had a place in an ongoing
> change strategy and understood how each reinforced the other.
>
> We have lost a loving friend and a good person who cared about this world.”
>
> Sandra Janoff
>
> “Everything is Moving, Everything is moving”
>
>  . . . That’s all Ralph said in a recent post . . . and it rocked many
> people’s worlds.
>
> It is SO true that it literally has defined much of my thought since . . .
> So many authors have written entire books to say what Ralph was able to say
> in 6 words.
>
> Poetry was something that Ralph wrote everywhere I saw him. I attended an
> Open Space on Open Space event in Monterey, CA 1998 with Ralph and found the
> proceedings from that event here
> http://www.openspaceworld.org/tmnfiles/OSonOSVIproceedings(Monterey).htm<http://www.openspaceworld.org/tmnfiles/OSonOSVIproceedings%28Monterey%29.htm>
>
> Following are 2 of Ralph’s poems written during that event:
>
> JUST A THOUGHT…
>
> Some of us treat the practice of open space as if it were a religion.
> They’re devoted and sometimes have dreamy eyes when they talk about it.
>
> Some of us treat open space as if it were a simple tool.  They’re convinced
> and sometimes speak with real conviction when they talk about it.
>
> Some see it as both.  Or neither.  Or some combination of things.
>
> Everybody’s right.  It’s okay.
>
> Ralph Copleman
>
> 1998 – Monterey California – Open Space on Open Space VI – (OSONOS VI)
>
> From November 14 to 16, about 70 people gathered to participate in the
> sixth annual Open Space on Open Space.  People came from Australia, Canada,
> Colombia, England, France, Germany and the United States.  Our theme was
> “Growing the Space for Open Space.”  The space was opened and held by Brian
> Bainbridge, Peggy Holman and Linda Olson.
>
> *What is my name?*
>
> I am open space
>
> I am one, I am all in one
>
> I am no one
>
> At all
>
> Do you come to me in dream time
>
> Will you walk with me in waking
>
> May we be together all ways
>
> Have you seen me lately
>
> Safety is my container
>
> Danger is the order of my day
>
> I wrap my paradox in a blanket of simplicity
>
> I compose a quilt of ambiguity with a single thread
>
> I chicken-scratch and penstroke and wave run
>
> I compress a fevered brow, and I pressure blood
>
> I am a weapons cache and an eagle’s aerie and a siren’s song and a jalapeno
> pepper
>
> I am so much fun I frighten people
>
> I am open space
>
> Have you seen my friends
>
> Do you know my lovers and keepers
>
> And takers and hard drivers, my embryo dreams and prodigal children
>
> Can you travel in my circles, please, and mutter in my ranks
>
> I am open space
>
> Can you run the fingers of your mind along my boundaries
>
> Can you penetrate my emptiness
>
> Can you fill my corners with cares or woes, or fourfold ways
>
> Can you move me
>
> Can you get me open
>
> I am open space
>
> Can you fill me up
>
> I am open space
>
> Can you shut me down
>
> I am open space
>
> Can you empty me out
>
> I am open space
>
> Can you answer me
>
> I am open space
>
> Can you question me
>
> I am open space
>
> Who am I
>
> I am open space
>
> I am everything
>
> I am open space
>
> I am nothing
>
> I am open space
>
> I am anything
>
> I am open space
>
> I am old
>
> I am open space
>
> I am new
>
> I am open space
>
> I am the same
>
> I am open space
>
> I am different
>
> I am open space
>
> I am I am I am I am
>
> –        Ralph Copelman
>
> I love you RALPH, and we will ALL miss you.
>
> Thank you for being fully present while being here with us,
>
> b
>
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>
>    About Barry OwenResidential Real Estate Principal Broker and Founder of
> Pareto Realty, LLC. Creating the quintessential real estate firm with
> emphasis on "Live, Work, & Play" balance . . . and a true Performance
> Oriented environment for Real Estate Professionals. Serving the Real estate
> needs of Home Buyers and Sellers in Middle Tennessee.
> View all posts by Barry Owen →
> <http://paretorealty.wordpress.com/author/barryo06/>
>
>
> --
> Barry Owen
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> Professional Coach
> Keller Williams Realty
>
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>
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>
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>
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-- 
Suzanne Daigle
NuFocus Strategic Group
7159 Victoria Circle
University Park, FL 34201
FL 941-359-8877;
CT 203-722-2009
www.nufocusgroup.com
s.daigle at nufocusgroup.com
twitter @suzannedaigle

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