[OSList] Invitation #2: Open Space in New York City - Martin Luther King Weekend

Suzanne Daigle sdaigle4 at gmail.com
Sun Nov 19 16:55:44 PST 2017


*Long Invitation*
>From the heart; I could not not write what I wrote.
*Signed* Suzanne


Dear OS community and friends,

This will be the first of many invitations. To a gathering for which I feel
a pull now more than ever before. I have not been able to find the right
words to extend this invitation to you on this OS list so I've been sitting
on it, and sitting on it. For about 4 to 5 years now, I have been
partnering with Harrison and Karen Davis to lend a hand in hosting Open
Space at this special place in New York City called International House.
The Open Space Insitute US and many others have also been there to support
and help.

This year as I invite others, I feel its pull even more poignantly. Because
of the world we live in, because so many of us feel a calling that seems
more urgent, more critical and more important than ever before.

With a tradition that has lasted more than 20 years, happening during this
same time period and at this same place every year, people have gathered to
learn Open Space or to deepen their practice of it - to feel its magic for
the first time or to feel renewed by it with others *as if* for the first
time. As I let my mind and my heart wander, I relive the moments of being
there, feeling the presence of those in my life who have become mentors,
friends and familiar faces. I feel myself climbing the well-worn steps of
this auspicious place full of history, remembering the buzz of
conversations, the silence, the reflections and the bursts of insight and
courage that emerged so naturally. For those who have attended, once, a few
times or more often, you each know what transpired afterwards because you
came. Afterwards, YOU opened more space than you could ever have imagined.
Countless individuals and entire communities from near and far have been
touched, inspired and activated because YOU opened space inside yourself
and for others.

As I fled the Florida hurricanes this year, finding myself in Montgomery
Alabama where Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and the entire Civil Rights
movement found their footing, I felt in awe of the space they had opened in
the world...courageously and strategically. Sitting in the Dexter Church,
standing in the kitchen where late into the night, Martin Luther King
questioned if he would have the courage to continue, to put at risk his
life and that of his lovely wife and newborn daughter. I felt transported
to the time later when he recited his "I had a dream" speech during the
March on Washington.

One would think that after all the sacrifices and all the bloodshed, that
we would be many steps closer to living what is in the Declaration of
Independence:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_men_are_created_equal>, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these
are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life,_Liberty_and_the_pursuit_of_Happiness>."

It would seem that as our planet gets smaller, that we would feel more
united and connected. And yet on so many fronts, we have reason to feel
discouraged and despaired. Indeed all the ingredients that invite us to
Open Space are there in its raw fury of opportunity.

Harrison Owen explains that this approach works best when these conditions
are present, namely high levels of

   1. *Complexity*, in terms of the tasks to be done or outcomes achieved;
   2. *Diversity*, in terms of the people involved and/or needed to make
   any solution work;
   3. *Conflict, real or potential*, meaning people really care about the
   central issue or purpose; and
   4. *Urgency*, meaning that the time to act was "yesterday".


Indeed one could venture to say that there has never been a time in history
where the need was ever greater to Open Space, to know Open Space and to be
Open Space.

PEACE and HIGH PERFORMANCE is the timeless theme of this historical
invitation happening from Friday January 12th to Sunday January 14th, 2018.

We invite you from the bottom of our heart and invite you to invite many
others.

Here is the link with the official Invitation
<http://www.osius.org/peace-high-performance-2018> where you can register.

With much love for this community - please spread the word!

Suzanne




Suzanne Daigle
Open Space Facilitator
NuFocus Strategic Group

FL 941-359-8877 <(941)%20359-8877>
Cell: 203-722-2009 <(203)%20722-2009>
www.nufocusgroupusa.com
s.daigle at nufocusgroup.com
Twitter @Daiglesuz
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