<html>
At 10:42 PM 6/3/2002 -0800,
<font face="Courier New, Courier" size=2>Julie</font> wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="Courier New, Courier" size=2>Harrison
graciously engaged in a conversation with me and others about a similar
topic several months ago. I think my original question had something to
do with what happened to the conflict that I knew must be present in the
situations people were describing here. Coming from the place of being a
mediator in my professional life, I was curious about what OST
facilitators do with the conflict they encounter in OST events.
<br>
</font><font face="Courier New, Courier"><br>
</font><font face="Courier New, Courier" size=2>By the time we finished
that conversation, I had become aware of an entirely new (to me) way to
think about conflict. I began to see that conflict is sometimes
created from the container of interaction being too small and too
limiting, and I began to understand how the OST process might allow
participants to bypass huge chunks of conflict simply by providing enough
space and freedom for people to converse authentically about what is
important to them rather than bumping up against unnecessary barriers and
obstacles.</font></blockquote><br>
In the search for Peace, which I guess is what Conflict Resolution is all
about, Peace is often understood in terms of the elimination of such
things as chaos, confusion and conflict. I think this is an error, and
although this unholy trinity (chaos, confusion and conflict) are all
damned uncomfortable, they are also, i think, essential to the progress
of life -- and in fact life itself. Those who spend their lives looking
at the process and function of open, living systems (which is what we are
individually and collectively) seem pretty well agreed that all living
systems need a little chaos to get by. In fact when you reach equilibrium
in biology, you are dead. Confusion, it seems to me, is the intellectual
equivalent of chaos, and it has the positive virtue of opening space in
the mind by clearing out strongly held notions in order to permit more
adequate ones to emerge. In a word, confusion might well be the essential
first step to wisdom. As for conflict -- it clearly occurs when people
care deeply. And caring is critical for a better world. Conflict is also
the way in which ideas and actions are honed and improved. So as i see
it, the elimination of all three would leave a pretty flabby life. To me
the real issue is to provide sufficient space so that all three
(chaos, confusion and conflict) can get up a real head of steam without
blowing the whole engine. And of course sometimes, the engine is blown.
But as they say, when it is over it is over. I think we experience a lot
of this in Open Space, which is why many (most, all?) of the things we
might hope to achieve with Conflict Resolution (and similar approaches)
take place -- apparently naturally. No training, no process, not even a
mention of the holy words mediation, resolution etc.<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="Courier New, Courier" size=2>I
now think Harrison is right. I think OST challenges prevailing
notions about conflict resolution in significant ways. I haven t
quite figured out how it all fits together yet, but I do know I no longer
feel a need or desire to mediate... seems like an awful lot of
doing... :)</font></blockquote><br>
I don't know that I have it figured out either -- but try this idea on
for size. The achievement of peace, which is not to be confused with the
elimination of chaos, confusion and conflict, but rather their inclusion
and transcendence, is what every open, living, complex, adaptive,
self-organizing system does. Some better, some worse, but peace making is
a natural act which will take place, provided the essential preconditions
are in place. Creating those conditions, as an intentional act, is what
we do when we open space. So Opening Space is in fact the practice of
peace. How about those bananas???<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="Courier New, Courier" size=2>There,
am I a good disciple yet? Is there some kind of advancement... like
a gold star on my forehead or a green belt around my waist, or... hey,
how about refilling that glass of wine, Harrison? (I ll order
another brandy for you...)
:)</font><font face="Courier New, Courier"></font></blockquote><br>
Forget the disciple bit -- but a drink sounds pretty good. And B... is
certainly a good beginning letter. But I would follow with ...eefeater.
As in Beefeater. As you know Open Space started with two Martinis, and
Brandy just won't do it. And as a matter of fact, you can forget the
vermouth too. But the drink will have to wait as I am off just now for a
little field work with an interesting group of Palestinians and Israelis.
We will see if some of these crazy ideas actually work.<br><br>
Harrison<br><br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<div align="center">Harrison Owen<br>
7808 River Falls Drive<br>
Potomac, MD 20854 USA<br>
phone 301-365-2093<br>
Open Space Training
<a href="http://www.openspaceworld.com/" eudora="autourl">www.openspaceworld.com</a>
<br>
Open Space Institute <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/" eudora="autourl">www.openspaceworld.org</a><br>
Personal website <a href="http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm" eudora="autourl">http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm</a><br><br>
<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>