[OSList] Ang.: Two Martinis

[eiwor@gatewayc.com]

Harrison, you are most welcome. And most of the differences between our perspectives could very well be a difference of culture and language. 
Have a great weekend
Eiwor

Skickat från min HTC

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Från: "Harrison Owen" <hhowen at verizon.net>
Till: "'World wide Open Space Technology email list'" <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
Rubrik: [OSList] Two Martinis
Datum: fre, aug 9, 2013 19:10
This pub is getting seriously busy and delightfully noisy. And fortunately it is sufficiently international to stock some good British Gin – which I am enjoying in my “usual.” Maybe I’ve had too many “usuals” but it did occur to me that if somebody had certified me 28 years ago as I was sitting on my patio enjoying two of the same, we might have avoided a lot interesting, wonderful trouble.  Over at Eiwor’s table I catch a snippet ... “ I would even dare to say that the prework and the discussion there is what opens the space. What I do at the beginning of an OST meeting is ritual, also important but still ritual.” Marvelous! And my experience is somehow the opposite, or at least something like that. Truth to tell, most of the spaces I have been privileged to open in the last dozen years were prefaced with a brief conversation which usually went something like: Harrison, our organization is dysfunctional and demoralized. Can you help? My response was, “Sure.” Or if I was feeling particularly conversational I could say – I can’t help, but you can help yourselves if you have the time and space. And I can help you find that. We might then go on to talk about logistics and the fact that this gathering must be Voluntary Self Selection, a free assembly of those who care. All of them! To be honest there is sometimes some skepticism, one might say resistance to this condition. If it were really voluntary, nobody would come! When I hear something like this I reply that perhaps they need to think of some other way to deal with their afflictions ... but if they run out of options, call me back. Open Space is not rocket science, and it can happen any time they are ready to go. But it begins with a REAL invitation...  It has been something of a shock to my self esteem as facilitator and consultant, but in general the quality and impact of the Open Spaces of my experience has been inversely proportional to the amount of time and effort I expended before and after. Mine was an incidental passage, and the faster I got out of the way, the better everything went. “One more thing Not to do” not only minimizes work (mine) but (perversely) maximizes impact. Strange. And then there is the Opening – that 15 minutes of circle walking and a few comments. On the face of it, those few actions and words seem inconsequential and strange. And yet what happens over the course of that brief time period is remarkable, by virtually any standard. A group of people, and sometimes a very large group of people, move from bovine placidity, aggressive hostility, or bemused curiosity into concerted action. They never look back, and it has always “worked.” The scene becomes even more remarkable in those situations (my common experience) where prior contact and preparation has been minimal to non-existent. Some serious forces are at play and somehow, someway we have a part to play. Humbling and awesome. At least it is to me every time. Without fail. And it really flies when I get out of the way. Well the Pub surely is bubbling tonight – and thanks Eiwor for the stimulus to reflection!  Harrison  

Harrison Owen7808 River Falls Dr.Potomac, MD 20854USA 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)Camden, Maine 04843 Phone 301-365-2093(summer)  207-763-3261 www.openspaceworld.com www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST Go to:http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
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