<html>
At 04:55 AM 11/6/00 -0500, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="arial" size=2>Dear
friends and colleagues,</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2>here is a little story that was told to us the
other evening in a group of people. It reminds me that although it is a
popular opinion on this list that less is best, it isn't always so--at
least when you are new at it.</font><br>
<br>
<font face="arial" size=2>One woman was telling the story of her daughter
who had been for driving lessons that day. The teacher told the daughter
to go through the next light and then to turn left at the first street
after that. The daughter asked the teacher if he was sure she should go
through the light. He said yes. Well, they got to the light and the light
was red. The daughter kept right on going. It was only due to the teacher
slamming on the brakes on his side of the training car that they avoided
a bad accident. The teacher yelled at the daughter for going through the
red light and putting them in danger. The daughter pointed out that he
had told her to go through the light. She was a new driver and did not
know that he really meant for her to stop at the light first if it was
red.</font><font face="arial"></font></blockquote><br>
Nice story, but I think there is a genuine difference between learning to
drive and Open Space. Driving an automobile is not a natural phenomenon.
We aren't born with wheels and windshield wipers, and nothing in our
natal experience tells us about Stop Lights. Open Space, on the other
hand is, I think, a totally natural phenomenon -- that of
self-organization.-- something that we already are, but try very hard to
forget. After all, if self-organization were a genuine reality on the
human scene, most managers (of meetings and organizations) would be of
little use, along with all the other folks who trained the managers to do
what didn't need to be done. Or something like that. So in Open Space, a
core issue (for me) is to remember who I/we essentially am/are. In
virtually all cases this means peeling stuff away, thinking of one more
thing not to be done, which ultimately means, Less is More. I
think.<br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Harrison Owen</blockquote>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<div align="center">
7808 River Falls Drive<br>
Potomac, MD 20854 USA<br>
phone 301-469-9269<br>
fax 301-983-9314<br>
website
<a href="http://www.mindspring.com/~owenhh" eudora="autourl">www.mindspring.com/~owenhh</a><br>
Open Space Institute website
<a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/" eudora="autourl">www.openspaceworld.org</a><br>
</div>
</html>