<html>
At 12:03 AM 1/27/01 -0800, Chris wrote:<br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>For me, this is hugely profound in
its implications, because what it says is that community development is
most effective when one simply opens space for the community to
develop. It doesn't require elaborate planning strategies and
particpatory initiatives aimed at, in my opinion, establishing who has
power and how much of it gets parcled around. Instead it simply
requires the task of opening and holding space be performed so that
people can access their passions, and find ways to take responsibility
for them. Forgive me if I seem to be pointing out the glaringly
obvious, but I am going to continue to write about and think about this
approach to community development. I think in many ways it grows
out of a lot of the work that has been done on the Open Space
Organization. </blockquote><br>
Chris, I agree. And it is also a blinding flash of the obvious. In this
case, the community and its members suddenly becomes aware of what they
truly are. This may be a new insight, but it is not a new reality. They
always were what they are. (duhhh) I think there is something else here
as well. In the better, more enlightened parts of medicine, it has long
been known that the body is its own best healer. The role of medicine is
to optimize the possibility of the body healing itself. But at the end of
the day, should the body refuse the mission -- for whatever reason --
that is pretty much the end of the line. I would like to generalize from
this accepted principle to the larger body of which we are all a part,
known variously as a "system," "organization," or
"community," and say essentially the same thing. The system is
its own best healer, and the best we can do is optimize the possibilities
that the system will heal itself. I think that is what we do when we open
space. <br>
<br>
And there is more. A (or more likely -- THE) fundamental process in any
system which enables its healing (as also all other processes of the
system) is self-organization. This process is at once a marvel of
simplicity and a maelstrom of complexity -- and it works without our
help, and often in spite of our best efforts to be of assistance. Now for
a small leap. <b>Healing</b> and <b>well functioning
self-organization</b> add up to the same thing. Or put a different way, a
self-organizing system is always in the process of healing itself. A word
for this is adaption<i>. I believe that what happens in Open Space is
that the process of self-organization is kick-started so that what should
be happening naturally has a chance to start again.</i> And it may or may
not. That is for the system (body) to decide. The gift of Open Space is
that we have the chance to see and experience what we naturally are -- a
well functioning self-organization system.<br>
<br>
A consequence of all of the above is simply that the Open Space
Organization is nothing new. It is already there. This, of course,
precludes the possibility that we might<i> decide</i> to become an Open
Space Organization, or worse yet to <i>create</i> an Open Space
Organization. We can, however, consciously provide the space/time for
what is natural to occur naturally. I think this is what we do.<br>
<br>
A final thought. Concentration on the details, the bits and pieces of
organization (structure, controls, givens etc) may be interesting and to
some degree useful -- but not if that concentration blinds us to the
central reality (I think), which is the process itself. As facilitators
(or whatever it is that we call ourselves) we are only and ultimately
witnesses to the process -- witnesses to the flow. The details -- before
during and after -- will pretty much take care of themselves. -- or
not. And witnessing, of course is not simply to assume the role of
a passive bystander. There is a lot more here than immediately meets the
eye -- as we all know. But that might be food for another
discussion.<br>
<br>
Harrison <br>
<br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<div align="center">
<font color="#0000FF"><u>OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU<br>
</u></font>To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,<br>
view the archives of
<font color="#0000FF"><u>oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu<br>
</u></font>Visit:
<a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html" eudora="autourl"><font color="#0000FF"><u>http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
</font></u></div>
</html>