[OSList] OSONOS Whenever, Wherever, with Whomsoever

[Lisa Heft]

I completely understand, Harrison, and I know you share the same  
values as I do.

I am not saying anyone could or should have done more. I simply enjoy  
exploring these issues and seeing what I myself have passion for and  
wish to explore further.

There was huge diversity at the WOSonOS - though it might not have  
been measured by what one could see by looking. This was due to an  
amazingly creative and loving practice from the whole host team and a  
collection of really kind colleagues - both those who could join us  
and those who could not. We had a rich diversity class, ability /  
disability, academic level, financial level, employment, age, gender,  
traveler newness, comfort / discomfort in groups, language ability,  
people who are thriving despite personal challenges and more.

There has been an amazing mix of folks from all over the world at the  
gatherings you have hosted - and a rich diversity of experience,  
history, practice, language and culture.

So all I am saying is that I love that sort of stuff. And that it is  
part of my practice to always explore who else and how else - in  
everything I do.

And I love you, Harrison, fully and completely, as you know.

It was tempting to 'keep the hat' when I wore it that evening in the  
pub.  ;o)
But it looks very good on you and I love that you have such wisdom,  
such generosity, such passion, and such a cool hat...

Lisa


On Oct 24, 2012, at 2:39 PM, Harrison Owen wrote:

> Lisa – Never for a moment would I challenge your title as Access  
> Queen, to which we might add a new one – “Hostess with the Mostest!”  
> Bravo! Well done… and…
>
> There are also other possible styles and modes of operation. Mine  
> for instance. My choice is almost inevitably to do less, as little  
> as possible, or indeed nothing at all. All under the heading of “One  
> more thing not to do.” In frivolous moments I tend to explain my  
> behavior as laziness, but truthfully there really is some thought  
> here. Over the years I have discovered that the less I do, the  
> better things seem to turn out. The secret seems to be that my “out  
> front doing” takes up a lot of space and even when that doing is  
> done with the best of intentions – it inevitably deprives other  
> people of the opportunity. They might just feel, Oh well, Harrison  
> will take care of it, or even worse my “doing” becomes a threatening  
> standard and not terribly far from “The Right Way.” Should we reach  
> that awful endpoint, we are uncomfortably close to the Kingdom of  
> the Great THEY. THEY are in power, and I (poor me) have no place  
> here, nor any responsibility.  For me it is an old truth, If I  
> empower you, you are in my power. Lose/Lose.
>
> Doing Nothing, however needs to be balanced with Being More, I  
> think. My hope and intention (realized only occasionally, I admit)  
> is to Be in a way that space/time is truly open and inviting. My  
> invitation is for each person I meet to be fully themselves,  
> brilliant or warty as that may be. Occasionally this is a matter of  
> words spoken, but somehow much more subtle. Truthfully I really  
> can’t say what “it” is --  but I definitely know “it” when we meet.  
> And I do have an idea as to how I get to that place. Call it  
> clearing, focus, intention, whatever, but I find myself in a quiet  
> open space which is rich with potential and welcoming to the rich  
> diversity of my fellows. Fun stuff!
>
> Open Space Technology has been my playground, practice, and teacher  
> about a lot of things, but mostly about the wonder of this self  
> organizing world. I have been interested in (fascinated by) self  
> organization ever since. My dissertation in 1965 could have been sub- 
> titled, “Chaos, Order and the Creative Process.” But all of that was  
> pretty much of an intellectual endeavor. Then along came Open Space.  
> My intellectual games became my existential reality. I found myself  
> living intentionally in this self organizing world, the only one we  
> have got. And with the passage of time I learned, sometimes very  
> painfully, about being deeply and effectively in that environment to  
> the end that I might be fully myself, and of equal importance,  
> somehow to enable (encourage, facilitate, challenge, etc) others to  
> enjoy the same experience. What began as a funny attempt to have  
> better meetings became a pathway to extraordinary human performance,  
> and genuine peace. Things to cherish, and things to share -- and you  
> really can’t do one without the other. To share something you don’t  
> cherish is pretty sick, and to cherish something you won’t share  
> creates a very small world. And curiously enough, the corner stone  
> of everything for me was Not Doing.
>
> I guess all of this has become rather personal to say nothing of  
> esoteric, but there are some practical implications and  
> applications, I think.
> First – Open Space (as in OST) is free and always has been. After  
> all it belongs to everybody as a birthright. Second – Anybody can do  
> it. The simple truth of the matter is that we all (7.5 billion of  
> us) do it except that some people don’t recognize this and are  
> therefore less comfortable and effective. Third – Helping people  
> find their time/space is less about what we do than how we are.  
> After all we are not teaching them anything new, we are merely  
> helping them to remember what they already know. And remembering, in  
> the last analysis, is something you have to do for yourself. I like  
> to think of my several books as a jog to the memory.J
>
> Last but not least, Lisa – to your special concerns of INCLUSION and  
> DIVERSITY. And lest you have any doubts, they are my concerns as  
> well. I find that diverse (different) peoples will include  
> themselves when they perceive an attractive, productive, welcoming  
> space. As a matter of fact, it is very hard to keep them out, even  
> if you tried. I think we see this in small ways in every Open Space  
> when total strangers show up, as happened in London. Personally I  
> noticed this first (in reverse, as it were) when visiting small,  
> isolated bush villages in West Africa. I would show up as the only  
> white man most of the children had ever seen – and be enfolded in a  
> warm welcome. Not showy, and definitely not verbal (I couldn’t  
> understand a word) but there was space for me. Welcoming the  
> stranger was a way of life.
>
> I think something like this happens just about every time we open  
> space. Think of the security guards in London. They had their roles,  
> and positions (at the door), but they got sucked in. And they will  
> remember. They will tell their friends. And I wouldn’t be at all  
> surprised if someday “we” didn’t see them again somewhere.
>
> But…you might say we could have done more. Of course. And the “more”  
> that you do is marvelous. It can also be a little fatiguing. For a  
> single event, even 20 of them in succession (Thank you Phelim and  
> D&D) you can go the distance, but how about the global enterprise?  
> There are 7.5 billion different people out there all living in open  
> space, and just about everybody could use a hand. Organizing  
> something like that, one event at a time, boggles the mind and  
> breaks the back. At least my back. And what about an alternative?
>
> I think that alternative might look pretty much like what we are  
> (and have been) doing. Open space, wherever, however, whenever, with  
> whomsoever, about whatever…Let some light shine in and out. Inside  
> the “participants” will bask in the glow (they always do). And  
> outside, the strangers will see  -- not so much what we “do” which  
> really may look weird – but most importantly how we are. They may  
> come in then, or later, or not at all. But over time, and around the  
> world, it is just amazing how many people have shown up!
>
> If you look at any single gathering (London for example) – the skin  
> color might have been darker. There might have been different  
> people. But it was what it was, what it was. And wasn’t it  
> wonderful! And also somehow limited. However, if you think of London  
> as a momentary “piercing of the veil,” revealing those particular  
> people at that particular time fully being themselves, and enjoying  
> it (most of the time) – as a snapshot of a global experience  
> involving millions of people in hundreds of thousands of similar  
> gatherings, each person different as different can be: Tibetan  
> Monks, IBM Executives, Israeli Kibbutzim, Egyptian activists,  
> African villagers, Haitian teachers, Boeing Engineers, Radical  
> feminists, Roman Catholic Nuns, UN Human Rights Staff, Columbian  
> Government folks and FARC, Microsoft Engineers, and on and on and  
> on. On through the manifold diverse wonder of humanity. I don’t  
> think it has gone all that badly, especially since we never had a  
> plan.
>
> I love you Lisa. Just keep on keep’in on. Somehow it is all working  
> out. And what about the final reel? Show ain’t over yet. Keep tuned!
>
> ho
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20121025/ddc972f6/attachment-0008.htm>