[OSList] A Time for Questions

Sun Sep 1 20:31:17 PDT 2013

This is Labor Day weekend - a period of pause and reflection as the summer
comes to an end, busy work resumes, the new school year begins. So fitting
this journey down memory lane and the important work ahead.  Our theme at
WOSonOS was the World is Waiting... Are we Ready?  The Millennials asserted
loud and clear:  "We are ready!"... ready to partner with us, to step into
their leadership and to jump into the fullness of life in ways that may be
unlike anything we have lived and experienced before.

Reading what Harrison wrote reminded me of a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke.  I
had been so moved by it that I transposed it on a beautiful Florida beach
photo and sent it to dozen friends in August 2008.   It was a pre-Open
Space era for me; guess the soil was being tilled for what would come later
in my life as I was very drawn to its message.  Now I understand more what
questions and opening space mean to the vibrancy of life.  So this evening,
I went fishing for it and buried in the hard drives of an old computer that
contain many treasures, I found it and it gives me joy to share it with all
of you in this wonderful world-wide community-- a reminder of the
privileged work we each love and do!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9btt1cthfsmyi71/Seeking%20our%20path.pdf

Suzanne

On Sun, Sep 1, 2013 at 8:04 PM, David Osborne <dosborne at change-fusion.com>wrote:

>  A wonderful description Harrison.
>
>  Here's to the questions and the space they open.
>
>  David
>
>
>  --
>
> David Osborne
>
> www.change-fusion.com | dosborne at change-fusion.com | 703.939.1777
>  On Sun, Sep 1, 2013 at 6:59 PM, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net>wrote:
>
>> David Osborne's statement and Chris's question precipitated something in
>> my
>> head. Needless to say David can and should speak for himself. However
>> from
>> my relatively isolated corner of the universe (Maine) I have noticed a
>> few
>> interesting suggestions that something of a shift might be in the wind.
>> Whether it will be sufficient to save Homo sapiens from ossification,
>> only
>> time will tell.
>>
>> One such suggestion in the increase of questioning. As a child of the
>> 50's
>> (and yes there really were human beings walking the earth in that primal
>> time), my world was firmly described by answers. Everybody knew precisely
>> how life should be lived. There were rules to be followed, and if
>> followed
>> success was assured. Of course there were deviants who were largely
>> marginalized and suppressed, but WE knew the Answers... the right way.
>>
>> And then a funny thing called the '60s blew all that certainty away. It
>> was
>> at once terrifying, refreshing, and exhilarating. And one thing was for
>> sure: The primacy of answers gave way to an avalanche of questions. It is
>> in
>> the nature of questions to open space. Answers close it.
>>
>> With all the fresh air of openness, the forces of creativity soared to
>> the
>> joy and terror of all involved. Space in all dimensions exploded, and the
>> tight societies of Philadelphia and New York, in which I grew up,
>> shattered
>> to merge with insular rural communities, and make contact with strange
>> creatures on The Other Coast. Strange new world!
>>
>> The 70's and early 80's possessed a rich nutrient openness. New stories,
>> and
>> the answers they purported to provide, popped up like mushrooms. Some
>> were
>> weird, some substantive, some technological and all of them creating as
>> many
>> new questions as the answers they supposedly offered. Thrilling!
>>
>> But as the 80's ended and the 90's arrived it seemed that the age of
>> answers
>> were settling more than a few of the questions. Author's could write
>> knowingly about "New Rules"... and while there was a breath of novelty it
>> seemed the rules (answers) were known.
>>
>> The 90's slid by with almost dream like certainty. At least that's how it
>> seemed to me. The Markets were up, America ruled. Some were even
>> suggesting
>> that the Age of Aquarius had actually begun! I guess there were still
>> some
>> questions, but none that we couldn't handle with the right Process or
>> Procedure. And if not today, then tomorrow. So ended the Millennium.
>>
>> The New Millennium rolled in as predicted. Surprise! But in a funny way
>> it
>> seemed pretty anti-climactic. To be sure there were lots of parties,
>> fireworks, speeches, the usual turn of the Millennia Fantasies. But at
>> the
>> end of the day it was pretty much more of the same... Until a bright
>> clear
>> day in September. September 11th to be exact. Maybe this was just a
>> turning
>> point for those of us in the USA. But I do believe, as I listen to my
>> friends and colleagues from around the world -- we were all there.
>> Doubtless
>> with different feelings and interpretations. But for better, for worse,
>> for
>> richer, for poorer... it was a very different world!
>>
>> How different, we are only just beginning to understand. And for the
>> first
>> time in some long time -- the Questions vastly outnumber the available
>> answers. This is a Turning Point. And a wonderful one, I do believe. When
>> we
>> as a species are compelled to sit in that really uncomfortable and juicy
>> moment created by truly profound questions, the Space is truly OPENED. I
>> think that is where we are at, and best of all I see lots of new faces
>> rising to the bait. Call them "Millennials" or whatever... but it is
>> every
>> bit as exciting as the "60's" and we may or may not survive to tell the
>> tale. But that has always been true.
>>
>> Harrison
>>
>>
>> Harrison Owen
>> 7808 River Falls Dr.
>> Potomac, MD 20854
>> USA
>>
>> 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:
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>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
>> [mailto: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Chris
>> Kloth
>> Sent: Saturday, August 31, 2013 8:15 PM
>> To: World wide Open Space Technology email list; David Osborne
>> Subject: Re: [OSList] Federal Reserve Employees Survey
>>
>> David,
>>
>> I wonder if you could share a little more about what is going on already.
>> I
>> have had conversations with Fed officials in San Francisco and Cleveland
>> and, while they are doing some things I am very interested in and
>> impressed
>> by, I have yet to see evidence of OST.
>>
>> --
>> Shalom,
>>
>> Chris Kloth
>> ChangeWorks of the Heartland
>> 254 South Merkle Road
>> Bexley, OH 43209-1801
>> ph 614-239-1336
>> fax 614-237-2347
>> www.got2change.com
>>
>>
>> Quoting David Osborne < dosborne at change-fusion.com>:
>>
>> > Yes Brett. Being Done.
>> >
>> > Consider looking beyond the reporting....to the fact that space has
>> > been opened for this to be shared and talked about. What is in the
>> > news is not always the best reflection of what is actually happening.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> >
>> > David Osborne
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > www.change-fusion.com | dosborne at change-fusion.com | 703.939.1777 On
>> > Sat, Aug 31, 2013 at 12:35 PM, Brett Barndt < barndtbrett at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >> Can the OST community perhaps help here? It is a sad state of affairs
>> >> in which we all have a stake. Even citizens of the world have a stake
>> >> in this dysfunction owing to the interconnected nature of the global
>> >> economies, our livelihoods, and well-being.
>> >>
>> >> The appointees, and congress by association, should not be permitted
>> >> to let it go on this way any longer. People are dying out there with
>> >> higher poverty, food insecurity, mortality, and suicide rates as a
>> >> result of this situation.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/federal-reserve-employees-su
>> >> rvey_n_3826165.html
>> >>
>> >> Discourse and dialogue are the last thing that should be stifled by
>> >> culture or any other dysfunction in an institution like this one.
>> >>
>> >> OST and an open process of multi-stakeholder engagement is of course
>> >> part of the solution.
>> >>
>> >> This seems like it should be well within our rights to insist upon at
>> >> this moment in time. We are stakeholders. Albeit. we are
>> >> non-consulted, unrepresented stakeholders in the current practice.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> _______________________________________________
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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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