[OSList] Open Space - A Celebration of Life (long)

chunili2000 at yahoo.com chunili2000 at yahoo.com
Fri Jul 1 19:51:52 PDT 2011


Did you have a happy Canada Day?

I had a good day today. I had a long good lunch with two friends and the 
conversation somehow moved to my work at MonmouthCares, our Wraparound practice 
model, and to Open Space. To most of my friends (who are IT engineers), my work 
is abstract yet fascinating :-).

My cousin from Taiwan (Winnie's sister) and her son (my nephew) are here. They 
are all playing ma-jong downstairs tonight. My niece came home today too from 
CA. Tomorrow, Chia's mom will be back from Taiwan. 

Can you imagine my house? 




________________________________
From: Suzanne Daigle <sdaigle4 at gmail.com>
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
Sent: Fri, July 1, 2011 8:30:14 AM
Subject: [OSList] Open Space - A Celebration of Life (long)


July 1st Canada Day (I am Canadian) on the eve of July 4th US Independence Day 
(my adopted country where I live).   I still can’t quite believe that it was 
only a little over 2 years ago that Open Space came into my life. Two years ago, 
I remember it as if it was yesterday and yet it feels like a lifetime ago!  
Something happened that day and that weekend that shocked me, surprised me, 
scared me and made me feel giddy with embarrassment. Harrison created a 
manifesto on something I had written and posted it on the OS list. 
http://www.hhowen.blogspot.com/

As I recall it now, I felt a bit like Susan Boyle, 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnmbJzH93NU  singing “I dreamed a dream”, being 
discovered on the world stage. I had just started to find the true power and 
passion of my voice, a voice I never knew I had, a voice that boldly and bravely 
helped me step out, speak out, and connect me in conversations that are as 
heartfelt and soul deep, the likes of which I still to this day cannot even 
begin to describe. I look back to my past two years feeling such gratitude. 
Before it’s as if I lived on a street in a small neighborhood; now I am 
connected to a community of close friends across the globe thanks to Open Space. 



Putting one foot in front of the other, trusting my intuition, facing my fears 
and doing it anyway, I am astonished to have facilitated, co-facilitated or 
participated in 30 Open Space events.  What I saw, what I felt, what I 
experienced, and what I witnessed over and over again goes beyond words. How 
could I ever explain the unspoken pain and fear as people take the risk to 
invite others to something they do not know, that is so different from what 
normally happens (sitting in a circle, no experts, no speakers, no agenda, 
etc.)? How could I describe what happens in a moment, in an instant when people 
rush to the middle, writing and announcing their topics quickly filling the 
giant blank wall?  How could I capture the essence of watching people move so 
purposefully from one group to another, feeling their intensity, their 
exhaustion, and their bliss?  How could I ignore what happens when people let go 
their armor, laughing and talking in abandon, rediscovering what it feels like 
to just be themselves, perfectly imperfect, knowing that they do indeed have 
much to contribute.

For me, Open Space was never a process, a theory, a management tool, a cult, a 
religion or a large system change intervention.  From the first time I 
experienced it, I always knew it was so much more than that, more than what 
happens right then and there and more than the end results and actions that we 
want and expect.  It’s an invitation to come home to the power of our lives and 
who we are. 



Truth be told, I cannot get enough of discovering the layers beneath, under and 
around Open Space.  I have a longing and a hunger to know more, to hear the 
personal stories of others who were touched and affected by Open Space as I have 
been, as others have. I crave reading those stories wondering at times if it is 
just me, if this is as important as I feel it to be, if this is too private only 
to be shared with a few. I dream one day of interviewing hundreds of people, 
becoming the journalist that I once was, writing a “Chicken Soup of the Soul” 
Open Space book that speaks about what happens deep inside a person and a group 
when they experience Open Space and opening space to their true selves with 
others.  I want to hear and write about what happens, when people let go, 
shedding  their armor and facades, allowing themselves to be the best of who 
they are, working with others to make this complicated world a better place.
  

Yes I have much to celebrate this weekend on this Canadian and US holiday and 
much to look forward to because of Open Space!   Thank you my precious Open 
Space friends and colleagues for this wonderful gift, for inviting me stand on 
your shoulders to savor this gift of life that so many have contributed to these 
past 25 years not the least of whom, Harrison who originated this. 
Suzanne


-- 
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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