[OSList] Response from Harrison Owen

[Michael M Pannwitz]

Dear Elwin,

"whenever it starts is the right time" popped up in my mind reading your 
grand story.
The "party" could also be observed at the gathering of Rabbis, Immams 
and some Christians in Sevilla.
And it raised its head also in Rome where Israelis and Palestinians 
gathered on "neutral" ground thinking about a time when peace had broken 
out...
it always appeared at every os event I was part of. But it was hard to 
imagine that it also would in impossible, highly conflicting situations.

Just had another look at "The Practice of Peace"... a good read in the 
face of an unfolding war just around the corner from Berlin.

Love and peace to all of us here and in Charkiw, Lwiw, Kiew...

mmp
Am 25.02.2022 um 15:37 schrieb Elwin and Joan via OSList:
> To Harrison's point:
> 
> Shortly after the close of the Bosnian War, I facilitated an Open Space 
> for the USAID sponsored Democracy Network project.
> 
> Assembled were "leaders" of the three warring factions, Croates, 
> Bosniacs and Serbs.
> 
> At the close the participants held a totally self-organized party, 
> complete with live music and more than enough food and drink. There was 
> plenty of dancing and singing.
> 
> If you didn't know better, you would have said someone had just gotten 
> married.
> 
> There's hope. Go to work!
> 
> Elwin Guild
> Future Development International
> Portland, CT
> 
> On Friday, February 25, 2022, 08:03:37 AM EST, Harold Shinsato via 
> OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> [This is from Harrison Owen because he is having trouble posting and 
> asked me to send this on his behalf. - Harold]
> 
> Michael Panwitz's response was superb and brought back many memories. 
> Michael and I teamed to produce some open space for 250 Rabbis and Imams 
> -- as he said. But they weren't just "any" Imams and Rabbis. They were 
> the lead guys in such places as Jerusalem, Paris, New York, Istanbul -- 
> and all around the world. How we got into all this, I truly don't know, 
> but there it was in Barcelona, Spain. The theme: "Peace."   Talk about 
> Conflict and High Dama.
> 
> The sponsors had decided that since the attendees were a rather formal 
> sort, we should not jump right into Open Space, but rather ease in. So 
> the meeting began with the usual dais, speakers, and everybody sitting 
> rows. Personally, I can't stand meetings like that, so I did not attend, 
> but somewhere around noon, I was walking through the massive atrium of 
> the hotel  when I heard the conference organizer (the guy who does all 
> the work) yelling "Harrison, Harrison..". He caught up to me,  and asked 
> -- "How quickly can you do Open Space? It is Chaos in there (the main 
> auditorium)." "The Imam from Paris is standing on the dais screaming at 
> the Chief Rabbi from Jerusalem..."
> 
> I replied -- that depended totally on the hotel staff and how quickly 
> they could make a circle out of rows of chairs. To give them plenty of 
> time, I suggested a three hour lunch break. That might sound extreme, 
> but not unheard of in Barcelona and other parts of the world. It would 
> also provide a good cooling off period.
> 
> At 3:00 pm the 250 Rabbis and Imams walked into a transformed 
> environment -- one big circle. There was a quiet buzz,  radically 
> different from the cacophony of the morning. What a difference a circle 
> can make. I stood at the edge to welcome the people and said simply that 
> we are here to find our way in peace. Then walking slowly around the 
> circle I invited each person to notice all the others, locating those 
> they knew, would like to know -- and all the strangers. When I reached 
> the point of my beginning I stopped to enjoy the silence which was deep 
> and pregnant. You could hear a pin drop.
> 
> You know what happened next. I moved to the center of the circle to 
> quickly explain about posting issues, The Five Principles, One Law, 
> Bumble Bees and Butterflies  --  with a final admonition to */Be 
> prepared to be surprised... /* And then an invitation to any one who 
> cared to post their issue. Total silence.
> 
> One by one, and soon small groups... participants moved to the center to 
> take a piece of paper and write their issue. I stood quietly, and as 
> each person became ready I gave them the microphone along with the 
> suggestion that they keep their remarks as brief as possible. But 
> clearly the group had different ideas -- and they made the space 
> their own. Each announcement became a 5-10 minute "sermonet" offered 
> with feeling but real respect. For more than two hours we proceeded in 
> that fashion and the group as a whole listened to every word. Perhaps 
> some people left, but I didn't notice. But what I did notice was that I 
> was personally exhausted. It is amazing what happens when you are in the 
> vortex of all that swirling energy even if you are apparently doing 
> nothing. I just had to go. When I had the opportunity, I handed the 
> microphone to Michael, said thank you, and walked out.
> 
> I had no question that everything would work out perfectly. And as 
> Michael has described, the people quickly  came to a conclusion and 
> adjourned for the evening. The next morning we met briefly in the 
> circle, but since all the issues were posted there was really nothing to 
> do but -- Go to work. Which we did. The issue groups met in the huge 
> atrium of the hotel. Everyone contributed to the common buzz in the 
> multiple languages of the participants. Great intensity, but also quiet 
> respect. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world.
> 
> On this first night of the invasion of Ukraine, the peace, respect and 
> passion of Barcelona might seem a distant dream. But it is also a 
> hopeful one. It can happen again. However, we have a lot of space to 
> open -- not just in the Ukraine. There are 8 billion of us affected by 
> what is taking place and there are not nearly enough atrium hotels to 
> accommodate the crowd.  New ways of opening space are obviously required 
> and finding them will be both challenging and sometimes very scary. But 
> we do have a lot of experience and it is time to get to work. Good luck !
> 
> Harrison
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
-- 
Michael M Pannwitz
Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin
+49 30 7728000     mmpannwitz at gmail.com