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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Well done, Peggy! Definitely deserving of
a profound “Atta-Girl!!” Every time I find myself in a conversation
such as this a simple (minded?) question comes to the fore. If everybody knew
precisely where they were going, why would they bother to come in the first
place? <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Somewhere along the line you say something
to the effect that orderly precision is to be applauded in the manufacture of
autos, planes, etc… True, I guess – but in those situations we
know, or at least think we know, what we are doing. So it makes sense just to
get it done. However, at a deeper level, the manufacturing process of those
critters is just as chaotic as all the rest of life (LOTS OF MYSTERY) at least
for those who are actively engaged in the process. And if you don’t
believe that just listen to the engineers and technicians as they do their job.
Lots of chaos, confusion and conflict, although people try real hard to keep
the knowledge of those realities from the customer. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>It is also true that innovation and improvement
come precisely at the points of chaos (at the edge of mystery). And when a
system gets (or thinks it has gotten) all the answers, innovation is dead –
and it won’t be too long before the system itself is moribund. Your
friend seemingly feels that we actually have a choice – to engage/not to
engage the question. To avoid or not to avoid the fundamental churning of life
(chaos). Seen in this light, what happens in Open Space (what happened in your
Open Space) is not some un-natural aberration. It is just what is. (Whatever
happens is the only thing that could have.) When things get really wild, I can
certainly understand the desire to hide under a rock and get out of the way.
And every so often you just have to do that, but I fail to see that this
withdrawal changes the essential nature of this wonderful chaordic stuff we
call life and living. We didn’t create it, and we can’t
really change it – but we can certainly learn how to live it better.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Harrison</span></font></st1:place><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> <st1:PersonName
w:st="on">OSLIST</st1:PersonName> [mailto:<st1:PersonName w:st="on">OSLIST</st1:PersonName>@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b><st1:PersonName
w:st="on">Peggy Holman</st1:PersonName><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, September 19,
2007 2:23 AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> <st1:PersonName w:st="on">OSLIST</st1:PersonName>@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> The Disaster of
Un-Facilitated Open Space (very long)</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Okay, the title isn't mine...it is from someone who attended the recent
Story Field Conference (<a href="http://www.storyfieldconference.net">www.storyfieldconference.net</a>).
Mind you, it is also a very minority view. For almost all of the 83+ people
who attended, it was a mind-blowing, life-altering experience. It set a
new bar for me of what is possible when a diverse group of passionate people
come together for 5 days in Open Space.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I'll say more about the whole conference soon. In the meantime,
there was one particularly provocative post-conference reflection expressing a
great deal of frustration about what took place. This person really
struggled with the open nature of the process, and asked some great
questions. (Unfortunately, his piece is in a secured area and I am not
ready to ask his permission to share it.) Still, I think you'll get the
gist through my response.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>As I said to him, there is so much to be learned about the dynamic
tension between “structured process where everyone knows what’s
going on, and everyone agrees to the ground rules” and a space open to
the mystery of what is wanting to emerge in the moment....<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>ABOUT MYSTERY<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>One of the main themes I found in your message was why go through all
the discomfort? What’s the point?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>You said:
</span></font><font size=4><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>The group seems
divided into two camps - those who prefer messy, emotional, and random
processing, and those who came here for a specific purpose, with the hope of
creating something new and extraordinary, and who are equally frustrated by the
chaos.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I’d
offer that for many of us, it is going through the messy, emotional, <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>seemingly</span></i> random processing that we have
the best chance of creating something new and extraordinary.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I have a deep and abiding commitment to bringing mystery back into most
everything we do. I believe that without the unknown, there is no
learning, no creativity, no life. For me, if there is only certainty, I
suffocate. I also believe that when there is no room for the unknown, it
makes itself felt through disease, disorder, violence, depression and other
unpleasant and unintended consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Culturally, we celebrate perfection – perfect athletic
performance, musical performance, total quality in production. I’m
glad we do; I have felt the inspiration of experiencing a virtuoso
performance. And I sure don’t want airplanes, bridges, cars built
any other way. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Still, there is a companion to this perfection that I believe is
equally essential that is not only not celebrated, but struggles to find its legitimacy
-- and grows increasingly important the more dysfunctional and destructive the
status quo becomes. It is what happens at the margins, where something
doesn’t yet have a form or a name, where it is seeking to come into
being. My friend, David Gershon, calls it the learning edge. If we
aren’t playing at the border between the known and unknown, we are
standing in the way of our own evolution. To be very pragmatic, there is
no learning or transformational change without mystery; if you already know the
outcome, then no transformation is involved! <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I appreciate learning from other’s knowledge, and believe that
has its place. When exploring a topic as nascent as a “story
field”, I would much rather be present with passionate, committed,
talented people exploring their inquiries rather than committed to their
certainties. I suspect this is true for many, if not most of us. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Could we have made better use of those who brought knowledge about the
new story to the gathering? Surely. SHOULD we have, in some
particular way? I don’t know. I think this choice is a useful
exploration and would be pleased to engage more fully in it. In
retrospect, I suspect we both gained and lost by the choices we made. For
example, we did not come away with anywhere near the shared sense of how to
answer the calling questions as I would have liked. And yet I wonder, had
we done so, would the voices that are often left out found their place in the
story? I have no idea. I know that I gained a deeper understanding
of how vital it is for those voices to be part of the story that emerges.
And I do know that the work continues to unfold among many who were
present. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I have come to believe that strategic conversations, such as we had at
the Story Field Conference, are part of a larger trend, a floating
conversation, with different threads of a collective exploration slowly
converging, bringing together different cohorts who are exploring similar
questions. Through these seemingly unconnected iterations, we are growing
a new and vital coherence among us. At least, that’s my
story. And it begins, indirectly, to touch on this question of what it
takes to get things done.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>WHAT IS THE PRICE OF A LINEAR FOCUS ON GETTING THINGS DONE?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I, too, have a passion for getting things done. That's why I invested
the unbelievable amount of time it took to put together this story field
gathering. But for me, the important question is this: given an
intention, what form of getting things done best serves that intention? <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>For example, I co-edited a 700+ page book with over 100
contributors. This required focused, linear skills of getting from A to B
on a tight timeline, juggling a vast amount of details as I went. It was
possible because there was a high degree of agreement about the underlying
assumptions – the “story field” if you will – of what
we were doing. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>However, for something like envisioning a new story, much less a new
story field, I believe what it takes to bring about wise action is quite
different from A to B thinking. In particular, it takes a special openness to
engage as much diversity as possible to achieve as lasting an effect as
possible from individuals, small groups, and perhaps even a major subset of the
whole group. This is not a linear proposition. When the assumptions
themselves are part of the territory in question, I believe that opening as
much space as possible for being receptive to what is wanting to emerge creates
the greatest opportunity for deep understanding and lasting results. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>That is part of the reason why, when I look at the how much wise action
takes place in our larger culture and the huge amount of fragmentation that
impedes wise action, it is clear to me that something different is called for.
I believe wise, unimpeded action is an outcome that naturally flows out of
strong, healthy relationships. By opening the space as we did, a great deal of
relational work was done. What I saw in reading the reflections is a remarkable
number of people who said, “I now have the courage to act on my
convictions”; “I know that I am not alone; I have allies”. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Are you aware of the remarkable number of meetings, conference calls,
one-on-one connections that are all in process as a result of our conference?
The action on the wiki, alone, is a testament to the aliveness of our work
together. Remarkably, a third of the conference participants (27) have posted
143 edits during the conference and for more than 2 weeks afterwards, and
counting.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Those people who have the good fortune to be quite at home in the
dominant culture -- which has an ethic of focusing on action, getting things
done in a linear way --<b><span style='font-weight:bold'> may not have thought
about what gets lost when that is always the primary focus. They may not
have wondered what voices don’t get heard because they find no place in
that drive for action. These are major parts of my life -- and the lives
of millions of other people.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I think
our culture has paid a huge price by squeezing uncertainty and chaos out of
every place we can! I believe it has created a wide range of unintended
consequences, most of which are virtually invisible. For example, one
such consequence is an unspoken norm that to be in community means conforming
to the dominant story. If I say something different, something that is
not comfortable or is unfamiliar, particularly if it is emotionally unpleasant,
it is judged to be inappropriate. To speak out is to risk being
ostracized. No wonder many women, people of color, and young people opt
out! <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I think the current fragmentation of our society grew out of feelings
that there were no avenues for voices that don’t fit accepted
norms. How can I feel connected to a larger whole when there is no space
for my point of view? At the extreme, violence is a consequence of this
fragmentation; if there isn’t a space for voices with different stories,
then it plays out in other forms. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>With all that is happening across our world today, I believe the story
has become far too complex for any one culture to have all the answers.
Because there was space for grief, anger, fear, and radical diversity, this
gathering made creating space for the voices and feelings not usually expressed
more visible, more urgent, and more poignant to me than even I have ever
experienced. I felt my own anger as a woman when challenged by yet
another straight, white man who saw all of the overflowing emotion as
nonessential and nonproductive. I heard, for the first time, the pain of
indigenous people who have always been completely invisible to me. I
heard the anguish of people of mixed race and non-white races expressed as a
visceral experience of being choked off from speaking their truth. And I
heard the pain of the white man – and others – confused and
repelled by what was happening. And the cacophony of those voices --
because they were heard -- welded us into a powerful community that was
viscerally felt by the vast majority of participants, and out of which has come
the ecosystem of activities that we are seeing online, in phone calls, and in
upcoming local gatherings -- as well as stimulating conversations like this
about what future conferences will be like…<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>AN INTERLUDE: ABOUT WEDNESDAY MORNING<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I think
part of the reason there was so much “stuff” surfacing on Wednesday
morning is that we culturally provide so little space for collective meaning
making of what is disturbing. I sense that we have 1) a great deal of
unhandled angers, hurts, fears that are wanting to be expressed and 2) very
little experience expressing them and dealing with them together
creatively. I was talking to someone who said the invitation to discern
whether what was surfacing was personal or coming from a deeper source was
interesting but with no practice, she wasn’t sure how to know. And,
as Van Jones spoke on the Pachamama video, we also know very little about how
to truly and usefully hear such expressions of anger, fear and grief.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>When I look back on Wednesday morning, the range of issues expressed
was extraordinary -- tensions between male/female, western culture/indigenous
culture, moving to action/handling our emotional backlog -- and there was room
for all of it. I personally believe that our collective capacity to stay
present to it all was pivotal for the quality of connections, and commitments
to actions that seems to be emerging from the gathering.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>As Mark Jones made us aware of, we saw, heard and loved each
other. And it isn't about a woo-woo comfy Green meme feeling. There
is power here, a latent power of the whole. We are only beginning
to understand the practical power of seeing, hearing, and loving each other
fully, together. To grow into that understanding, we'll need a lot more
such gatherings -- including a lot more continuity as a community. But
that's getting ahead of myself here….<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>BACK TO GETTING THINGS DONE…<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Right after the conference, my brother told me that Robert Putnam
(Bowling Alone; Better Together) has just released some new research that says
the more diverse a neighborhood, the more disengaged it is from the political
process. This is no surprise to me: as long as the pain, anger,
frustration remains suppressed, of course we can’t connect to get
something done! When Grace spoke her pain, she made visible something
that was already present. She opened the way for others to express their
hurt, anger, frustration of what usually remains invisible. While messy,
we made room for voices that are usually silent, to be heard. It is that
sort of healing that is vital for us to become the kinds of diverse communities
-- diverse, loving, and <i><span style='font-style:italic'>effective</span></i>
communities -- that I heard so many of us long for!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>And it took great courage. I see this as another reason for being
willing to open the space for what is wanting to emerge. As we practice
being in the unknown together and learn to trust each other, we discover that
we are not alone. In the last couple years of doing this work, it is one
of the strongest lessons I’ve received: when people know they are held,
they have substantially more courage to act.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>What a profound combination: connection to people who we might have
previously seen as different from ourselves - which means we have much great
access to each other to use our difference creatively - coupled with that
increased courage. When we do this well, I think the capacity for wise
action actually skyrockets! This is not to say that we don't have a lot
more to learn about HOW to use our differences creatively and HOW to be more
effective together. It <i><span style='font-style:italic'>is</span></i>
to say that our path to higher-order, more elegant handling of our differences
and collaboration is through hearing and welcoming our differences –
including our emotional differences - into our collective spaces.
That that process will often be messy goes without saying. But it is out
of that messiness that our increased collective capacity and communion arise.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I once heard a story of week-long Native American powwows in which they
drum and dance and worship and socialize for almost the entire time -- and then
get all their business done in the last afternoon. The communion built
during most of the week makes their work together a breeze, once they get to
it. I think there's something like that at work in the kind of community
I'd like to see grow around the story field project. That, combined with
the power of emergence and the flowering of diverse passions, is my own take on
"getting things done." That said, I'm also intrigued with how
we can arrive at collective coherences and whole-group accomplishments without
endangering those other powers. I leave that to our future work together.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>ON
FACILITATION<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>We came
together in a meaningful way towards accomplishing something that called to
each of us at the Story Field Conference more than any other conference I've
been part of. What made this possible? I don’t think it was
random, nor a lack of facilitation. <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>I
think it was shifting the locus of attention from what you would call
facilitation to hosting what is wanting to emerge in a space bounded by a
common intention to understand the role of story as a field phenomenon and to
use story for profound social change. </span></b> I believe we are
still learning how to do this well – and that there is much to learn.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I tend to
think of this as a shift of what is in the foreground and what is in the
background. Rather than a primary focus on the flow of a process and
keeping people “on task” or at least on the subject, the locus of
attention is on the flow of energy - in which there is confidence that any
voice that surfaces has something to contribute that can be heard and
integrated. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I get that from your point of view there was essentially no
facilitation. In a way, I’d agree with you as the term facilitation
doesn’t really describe the nature of being a host to what is
emerging. There is work involved in this role; it is just very different
than facilitating a process. Because it is less familiar, it tends to be
more invisible. Gabriel Shirley used a term a few years back that comes
closest to describing it for me: running the energy. Much of what we are
doing is paying attention to the energy of the group, tending to its flow
– what is the collective mood? what can we sense happening at the edges?
what serves the whole in reaching its potential? I don’t pretend to
know all the answers; I think we are in the early stages of learning how to
work with group energy. I know I am.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>For me, a core intention is to be sure that energy doesn’t get
stuck, that the space stays open for what is wanting to emerge. While I
see how you can interpret it as “egos reigning supreme” or that
“a big no-no is making someone feel bad, controlled or cut off”,
there are other ways to understand what is happening. During a reflection
among the hosts, Gabriel Shirley named it this way: there were two primary
perspectives present: 1) each person speaking was acting out of their own ego,
doing personal work; 2) each voice is there on behalf of the whole and is in
some way a gift to the whole. I’d say that this isn’t an
either/or, both are real. These perspectives offer alternative ways of
making sense of what is occurring.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I think many of us have minimal patience with this because,
particularly in the realm of affect, our culture has taught us very little
about where and how to express our emotional anger, pain, grief. The
dominant culture provides very few venues for this, so, of course, if a space
is made safe enough, it will surface. I applaud the quality of witnessing
we were all part of -- including you -- at the Story Field Conference, the
discipline of being present to raw feelings that eighty people held this space
on behalf of what was expressed. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Paradoxically, the dominant culture sees these once-suppressed feelings
dominating the conversation without noticing that (and how) <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>it</span></i> usually dominates conversations.
The dominant culture is transparent to itself, just as our individual blind
spots are invisible to us, just as the water is invisible to the fish.
Those most at home in the dominant culture have much less practice at the
discipline of witnessing because by definition, the dominant culture supports
their way of processing. Privileged people don't <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>have to</span></i> listen. Less privileged
people get much more practice sitting and listening to another’s
bullshit. In fact, the dominant culture even institutionalizes this practice in
the form of sanctioned talking head presentations. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>As Emily pointed out, in our western culture, focusing on getting
things done is our norm -- often, I would add, to the detriment of expressing
any other aspect of ourselves individually or collectively. I can imagine
on Wednesday morning that those expecting a space for getting things done were
extremely frustrated when the space shifted to a different purpose! But I
find myself wondering: Is this frustration more or less legitimate than
the frustration of those whose voices are suppressed? Perhaps we should
focus, instead, on whether our choice of plenary activity served our collective
intention.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>WHAT BEST SERVES OUR INTENTION?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>There are no doubt gentler pathways than to invite people to jump into
Open Space with little context of what to expect and with no training
wheels. Yet, I know of no other means that makes it so clear so quickly
that the ultimate authority for one’s experience rests with
oneself. And, I wonder, given the scale and scope of living a new story
into being, what best serves? I don’t pretend to have the answer; I
suspect there are many parallel paths. I do believe that the capacity to
be present to that which makes us uncomfortable is a vital skill for this
work. I believe that the space at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Shambhala</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Mountain</st1:PlaceType>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> held some trigger
for everyone! To the extent that such triggers feed our learning, growing
and connecting, I celebrate them. To the extent they cause people to
check out, go silent, and disappear, they cause me concern. There are
surely things to learn about how to navigate all that more successfully -- but
trying to keep people from frustration and triggers is certainly not the key.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Something you expressed that I found particularly ironic: that there
was a norm in Open Space that everyone be comfortable. In fact, I think
we were quite willing to have people be uncomfortable. <strong><b><font
face="Times New Roman">It was just that those who are most used to being
comfortable were the most frustrated and uncomfortable as we made room for
voices that are seldom seen, heard or welcomed to show up. </font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>And the gift I personally found in that was huge! I learned a
great deal about both the new story and the nature of story telling from what
took place during the week:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.5in'><font size=3
face=Symbol><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol'>·</span></font><font
size=1><span style='font-size:7.0pt'>
</span></font>The new story is most effectively told in ways that are
consistent with the new story<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.5in'><font size=3
face=Symbol><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol'>·</span></font><font
size=1><span style='font-size:7.0pt'>
</span></font>Blame, judgment, victimization, domination are all part of the
old story and when they show up in telling the new story, it causes those who
are made invisible by the old story to either disappear further or, where there
is room for them to show up, to show up fiercely<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.5in'><font size=3
face=Symbol><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol'>·</span></font><font
size=1><span style='font-size:7.0pt'>
</span></font>The new story integrates the duality implicit in male/female,
western/indigenous, white/non-white into a larger pattern of
“differentiated wholeness”. By differentiated wholeness, I
mean that our differences become a creative part of the whole – so that
to belong in a community is to show up in all one’s unique gifts and
quirks<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.5in'><font size=3
face=Symbol><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol'>·</span></font><font
size=1><span style='font-size:7.0pt'>
</span></font>Wholeness has holes in it, which has huge implications for how
stories are told:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3
face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>o</span></font><font
size=1><span style='font-size:7.0pt'> </span></font>If
the story teller speaks as if they have all the answers, it leaves no room for
voices and perspectives that have something to add<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3
face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>o</span></font><font
size=1><span style='font-size:7.0pt'> </span></font>Taking
a stance of humility and conscious evolution, recognizing that the story is
never complete allows space for new aspects to show up and be integrated<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3
face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>o</span></font><font
size=1><span style='font-size:7.0pt'> </span></font>Being
curious when missing voices show up is of service to the whole, inviting a more
whole version of our stories to emerge<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>BACK TO MYSTERY<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I don’t pretend to have all of the answers to how best to bring
mystery back into its rightful place. It is clear the form we used is not
comfortable for some. Perhaps it will never be -- and perhaps it is
important that it never be, at least to some degree. I do believe that
within the collective us, the capacity to be receptive, compassionately
unattached, is essential for the new story to blossom.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Open Space makes a huge amount of
space for the receptive. It also makes an extraordinary amount of space
for action. Where a group goes emerges out of its own needs.</span></font></b>
To say that again, a little differently: it is the energy of the group
that most shapes the nature of the space. <b><span style='font-weight:
bold'>By not “facilitating” the group in a specific direction, we
trust that what best serves the collective intention of understanding the story
field and the new story is served. </span></b>When the intention is
complex, as in defining a novel idea like “story field”, I have a
bias towards a process that boldly invites the emergent present, trusting the
wisdom of the group to take it where it most needs to go. Could we have
provided more context? Of course. Would that have been our best
service? I don’t know. It would have created a different
gathering. Would the voices and feelings that are normally invisible
found space to show up in productive ways? I don’t know.
Would we have had a clearer, more articulated sense of the story field and the
new story? If we did, I fear it might have been more intellectual and
less embodied. Trusting the group energy in open space, I trust that the
conversations stimulated by your, David's and others' critiques will produce
innovations that will allow us to explore these questions more deeply and consciously
in practice, together as a community.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I do understand that, in particular, the grief, anger, and fear
expressed was way overboard for people who have little or no experience with
it; or for those who feel that such expression belongs in its own special
container specifically for that purpose. Would I and others have had the
lived experience of the new story that we did without all that surfacing?
I honestly don’t know. There are ways in which both answers are
true, and I know that we'll be learning more about this.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I believe that in the new story, we have a right to be whole people
– head, heart, body, and spirit. And I believe we owe it to each
other to learn to be present to the whole of us in collective settings.
In fact, I think because we did that, it contributed immensely to why so many
people said this experience was life changing for them. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>While we haven’t yet landed in the intellectual coherence of the
new story that many of us desired (myself included), I believe we LIVED a
nascent form of the new story. There was space for all of us and not in
the form of “let’s make everyone comfortable” or in the form
of “you need to behave in expected ways”. Quite the
opposite! We made space for people to be real together, where our
differences were welcome disturbances from which learning and growth could and
did happen.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Can we get better at creating such experiences? I sure hope
so! I am sure there are better ways of inviting in male/female,
indigenous/western, straight/gay, white/color than we know right now.
We’re just getting started. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I know now that if we can’t hear new voices, we stay stuck
– as most of our current systems are. No wonder people are checking
out of them! I got a much deeper understanding of what it is like to always
need to keep what is most dear invisible or suffer the wrath of indifference,
judgment, dismissal. I also felt a new compassion for what it is like to
be seen as the oppressor, the one holding the current form in place, even when
we see ourselves as in the vanguard of change.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Still, you may well ask, why bring in so much mystery at once?
Why not just small doses? It may well be that for many, that’s what
makes the most sense. For me, I believe we’re entering into a time
of increasing dissolution; more and more of our assumptions and our systems
will be falling apart faster and faster. The more of us who become more
capable of being present to the anger, grief, fear, and confusion that will
surface, the better. What better way to practice than in learning more
about subjects we care about with people we discover are kindred spirits?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I am excited and fascinated at how engaged so many people who gathered
still are! Many people made deep connections with others. The
intellectual and practical work are underway big time. I wonder if it is
because we didn’t fully complete our work together? Our wholeness
has evocative holes in it! We’re still collectively processing the
questions around which we gathered. Perhaps this too -- rather than being
a disappointment -- is a lesson in keeping the mystery alive and following its
enticing energy to wherever it leads us.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>HOW TO MAKE IT BETTER<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>That said, as you pointed out, chaos can be quite challenging, so how
do we welcome it in a way that is of service to a group? <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'> That is an art that we are still learning.
It is part of the dialogue that your message taps for me. </span></b>We
do know some things about it:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>We know that
creating a sense of sacred space can make a tremendous difference (our
time at the Stupa that first morning in the presence of Spirit and our
ancestors contributed to bringing to consciousness what would make the
space fertile and productive) <o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>We know that
expressing dreams, desires, possibilities makes a difference (e.g., our
wishes spoken as if we are making them happen, and speaking to what would
blow our minds) <o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>We know inviting
adult behavior that asks us to draw from the best of ourselves matters (as
Mark did by offering HSL – hear, see, and love -- and as we did in
naming the Law of Two Feet – taking responsibility for what we each
love -- and asking people to check within themselves for what was coming
through them for guidance rather than looking to an outside authority) <o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>And we believe that
working with the energy present in the moment matters.<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
</ul>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Beyond that, I expect this conversation and others like it to continue,
helping us discern how best to welcome chaos, to make room for the emergent
while tending to whatever form of getting things done best serves.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>ON RANDOMNESS AND ORDER<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Have you ever seen a strange attractor coming into being?
(Strange attractors are beautiful mathematical images. (see <a
href="http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/~stilti/images/chaotic_attractors/chaos26.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/~stilti/images/chaotic_attractors/poly.html&h=640&w=640&sz=45&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=ieBIZJB9pAv28M:&tbnh=137&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstrange%2Battractors%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DGGGL,GGGL:2006-42,GGGL:en%26sa%3DN">http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/~stilti/images/chaotic_attractors/chaos26.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/~stilti/images/chaotic_attractors/poly.html&h=640&w=640&sz=45&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=ieBIZJB9pAv28M:&tbnh=137&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstrange%2Battractors%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DGGGL,GGGL:2006-42,GGGL:en%26sa%3DN</a>).
They take a mathematical formula, push some numbers through, plot the output on
a map, feed the output back through the formula, and plot again. In other
words, they iterate through the same formula over and over. Initially the
dots seem completely random. Over time, a pattern becomes visible. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I see conversations in a similar light. I find most of us live,
either consciously or unconsciously, in a complex question or two. For
example: What is the nature of story? What is the new story that wants to
be born? How do we bring this story more fully to life? As we answer
these questions, we feed the responses back through and new answers
emerge. They begin to paint a picture. When we join with others in
a shared inquiry, the picture takes on more shape. What starts as
seemingly random, begins to come into coherent form. It begins to entice
us in, as we collectively call it into being and witness its new resonance
surfacing. This isn’t a simple story that one person can create
alone. And its shaping demands more than just our intellects. It
draws from the whole of us, head, heart, body, spirit. It is a complex
response, made of music, art, dance, idea. It is a coherent, many-storied
response to questions that we all hold dear. And it is still unfolding.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>So I end with an idea that surfaced through Tom Atlee and me:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>We are calling into being our collective soul so that our many-storied
world can find its way…and each and everyone one of us has our roles to
play in it.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Love,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Peggy<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>________________________________<br>
<st1:PersonName w:st="on">Peggy Holman</st1:PersonName><br>
The Open Circle Company<br>
<st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">15347 SE 49th Place</st1:address></st1:Street><br>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Bellevue</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">WA</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">98006</st1:PostalCode></st1:place><br>
(425) 746-6274 <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><a href="http://www.opencirclecompany.com">www.opencirclecompany.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><br>
For the new edition of The Change Handbook, go to: <br>
<a href="http://www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook">www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>"An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not
get burnt, is to become <br>
the fire".<br>
-- Drew Dellinger<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</div>
</body>
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