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At 06:44 PM 4/24/2003 +0200, Eva P Svensson wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>So quiet - just have to test that
I'm still connected to you all!</blockquote><br><br>
The silence is in fact deafening. And particularly noticeable for this
group. When silences come I find the reasons are usually three: a)
Nothing to say. b) Nothing need be said. c) What could, or should, be
said takes people to a place they don't want to go. I vote for
c)<br><br>
The events of the past month are, indeed, a little overwhelming. The US
invades Iraq, SARS breaks out. And now North Korea threatens to do a
nuclear demonstration -- whatever that might mean. Sufficient to take
your breath away. Forget about talking. And the prospects for the
immediate future are hardly encouraging. Speaking just for myself, I can
say that at such times, space becomes claustrophobically small. And my
daily activities verge on the irrelevant. Silence. Very quiet.<br><br>
It is quite possible that we are really in the midst of very, very, deep
doo-doo, from which there is no easy or obvious escape. Under the
circumstances it is always nice to have somebody to beat on and blame.
George the Shrub comes immediately to mind. But regardless of what he did
do that he shouldn't have -- or didn't do and should have, the situation
is probably well beyond him. From where I sit, he remains what he has
always been -- an embarrassment. As Birgitt might be tempted to say -- We
have a lot of Dead Moose. <br><br>
And yet in such moments, there is the possibility of enormous learning.
For ourselves, how do we open our personal space so that in this present
moment we can be fully here -- fully alive? And for our neighbors,
colleagues, clients and friends, how can we open that communal space so
breath (and meaningful conversation) becomes a possibility? Opening this
sort of space is rather different, I think, from filling the air with
trite platitudes and the power of positive thinking. It goes to a deeper
place.<br><br>
Slightly less than a year ago, I was privileged to work with a group of
Palestinians and Israelis in Rome. Relatively speaking, the world at that
point (compared to the present moment) seemed almost idyllic -- but for
those coming from The Middle East it appeared something other than a rose
garden. And in their presence, I could only share something of the
brittle fatalism reflected in the forced smiles, and nervous laughter
with which we began our gathering. Knowing full well that I could never
be fully where they were, I nevertheless felt compelled to share my own
vulnerability -- In my opening of the circle on that first day I said
something like...<i>"<font face="Arial, Helvetica">I had come
because I cared for my friends in Palestine and Israel, and also for
myself and my children. And although the people in that circle may feel
themselves isolated and alone in their own private Hell with their own
agonizing story, that story was also the story of our world. Like it or
not they were in the hot crucible of the future of humankind. The future
of all of us is being created in that strange place known as the Holy
Land, even as it has been for millennia. So I cared, but I was also on
the edge of despair or beyond. I could not think of any way out. The
issues were so deep and intractable that movement appeared denied. Space
was closed. But still I came, and still I cared – as I presumed was true
for each of them as well."<br><br>
</i>My learning during those days in Rome was profound. It became
startling clear that neither I, nor any single person there, had the
wisdom, courage, strength or perseverance to get us where we needed to
go. But none of us were called upon to do that -- we all were -- and all
rose to the challenge. In that rich space which contained all of our
hopes, fears, frustrations and anxieties, we collectively found a
collegiality which included and transcended them all. Needless to
say, we did not bring peace to The Middle East, but we surely experienced
peace in that moment. And that was a moment we will never
forget.<br><br>
So maybe it is time to break our silence here on good old OSLIST -- share
what we are, and what we are learning. <br><br>
<br>
Harrison<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
</font><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>
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