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<DIV><FONT face=Garamond color=#800080 size=4>And it is also good to remember
that the best teacher is one who allows his/her students to surpass him/her; the
best doctor is the one who listens to the patient and uses his/her bedside
manner to create a sense of well-being so the patient can heal; the best parent
is one who listens and doesn't promote decrees, etc. The average American
is lost in the doing of it all. The saying, "You are a human being; not a
human doing" is most appropriate. Being the catalyst for change by being
the human BEING that holds the space to bring it about is the best application
of human being you can be.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Garamond color=#800080 size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Garamond color=#800080 size=4>Blessings,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Garamond color=#800080 size=4>Toni Sar'h</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #800080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=owenhh@mindspring.com href="mailto:owenhh@mindspring.com">Harrison
Owen</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, March 17, 2003 3:51
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: another (successful) OS and
sooo many questions (not short; probably qualifies as "long")</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>At 10:08 AM 3/17/2003 +0300, Raffi Aftandelian wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">My questions:<BR><BR>1. What do I
do about my conflictedness about OS?<BR>Inside I am still quite mixed about
OS. I saw again that "it<BR>worked". Yet I am not quite convinced. This was
the first time I was<BR>paid appropriately for doing an OS (before I did it
for free or<BR>almost-free). So I felt greater responsibility. It's this
combination<BR>of enchantment with and skepticism towards OS that lives with
me.<BR><BR>Enchantment because on a head level it seems too simple and yet
works<BR>so well. Skepticism because it's hard to believe that something
that<BR>requires so little facilitator intervention (and skill) is so
powerful. Also, I am<BR>not still convinced that it brings results. I am
such a perfectionist,<BR>I really wonder if I'll ever be convinced that it
brings "results". Or<BR>that I'll ever know what "results" looks
like.<BR><BR>Also, I carry tremendous guilt. I got paid for sitting around.
Was I<BR>tired at the end of the day? Yes. I was "on". My role reminds me
of<BR>the emperor who wears no clothes (I recall your story, Harrison,
about<BR>the OS where the company's CEO or a consultant said that with OS
you'd<BR>developed the greatest OD scam ever: the workers formulate
the<BR>questions, answer them themselves, the consultant does nothing
and<BR>gets paid for it). A part of me feels like a fraud. Has anybody
else<BR>ever felt like this during OS?</BLOCKQUOTE><BR>So -- I guess I am just
not getting my mind around this one! What don't you understand about "It
works."??? We could go through the self-organization thing -- but that is only
a theoretical description which makes sense to me -- but that doesn't make it
right, nor does it change the commonly experienced reality that inviting
people to join a circle of concern, creating a bulletin board, opening a
market place, and getting out of the way -- WORKS! As for feeling guilty
-- I guess I miss that one too. The only guilt I can imagine would be if I
were to charge a whole mess of money for something truly complicated,
requiring major effort (on my part) -- which did nothing more than the people
can do all by themselves. Bottom line? People anywhere and everywhere
can do it all by themselves. It takes only a good head and a good heart. Sure
-- training is nice and, I think, useful. But i don't think it improves the
quality of Open Space so much as it increases our capacity to function in Open
Space, and to help others to do the same. <BR><BR>So maybe you should just
accept and enjoy the accolades and thanks -- declare victory -- and go home.
You deserve it! Obviously you did a fantastic job -- doing nothing.
<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"><FONT
color=#0000ff>http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm</A><BR><BR><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>*
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