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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>This weekend was the quarterly gathering of
Spirited Work, an open space learning community that meets 4 times a year using
an archetype from Angeles Arrien's Four Fold Way as the focus for each
season. (This was the season of the visionary.)</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>While there I uncovered an aspect of
butterflies that was new to me and want to reflect on with you.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>First, a little background. The way I have
always seen butterflies relates to the description of predicting weather
patterns, that is, a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world
creates storms in another. In other words, small actions can have large
consequences. In OS terms, a conversation in the hallway with someone who
doesn't seem to be in breakout sessions very often can lead to great
insights. Those insights are taken into the breakout rooms by the people
the butterflies touch and spread, having broad impact. I still believe
this to be the case. </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The additional perspective on butterflies comes
from several conversations that took place with people, who for reasons of race
or temperment see themselves as outsiders. These were folks who
didn't post in the marketplace either because they didn't yet feel safe (e.g.,
what if my views are so foreign that I get rejected or my ideas are
rejected?) or they couldn't yet formulate what they were trying to say well
enough to post it (e.g., I have this uncomfortable feeling but don't quite know
how to express it.) In these cases, the butterflies found a person or
people who spent time with them, listening, talking. In neither case did
it lead to a posting in the marketplace. In both cases their
experiences are now in the field and since Spirited Work has the luxury of
continued gatherings, my hope is that at some point the perspectives they bring
will move from the margins into the consciousness of the whole.
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Because OS has always felt so welcoming to me,
it was hard for me to understand the very different experience these folks
had. I see these butterflies as beautiful and wary of their
surroundings. What they bring are gifts of increased awareness of who we
are collectively that by being still enough to invite one to land nearby I can
touch.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Peggy</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>_______________________________<BR>Peggy
Holman<BR>The Open Circle Company<BR>15347 SE 49th Place<BR>Bellevue, WA
98006<BR>425.746.6274<BR><A
href="http://www.opencirclecompany.com">www.opencirclecompany.com</A></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>