Hi World out there, of course Chuni's note is not gibberish. It is an example of the deep friendships that develop through Open Space, often invisible to others but ever so meaningful! :-}<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">
On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 11:07 PM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:chunili2000@yahoo.com">chunili2000@yahoo.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div><div style="font-family:Courier New, courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;font-size:10pt"><div>My apologies. I meant to send this as a private message to Suzanne, but hit the reply button too fast.</div>
<div><br>Please ignore my gibberish which only Suzanne would understand :-).</div>
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<div>Chuni Li</div>
<div>New Jersey</div>
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<b><span style="font-weight:bold">From:</span></b> "<a href="mailto:chunili2000@yahoo.com" target="_blank">chunili2000@yahoo.com</a>" <<a href="mailto:chunili2000@yahoo.com" target="_blank">chunili2000@yahoo.com</a>><br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">To:</span></b> World wide Open Space Technology email list <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org" target="_blank">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>><br><b><span style="font-weight:bold">Sent:</span></b> Fri, July 1, 2011 10:51:52 PM<br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Subject:</span></b> Re: [OSList] Open Space - A Celebration of Life (long)<br></font><br>
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<div>Did you have a happy Canada Day?</div>
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<div>I had a good day today. I had a long good lunch with two friends and the conversation somehow moved to my work at MonmouthCares, our Wraparound practice model, and to Open Space. To most of my friends (who are IT engineers), my work is abstract yet fascinating :-).</div>
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<div>My cousin from Taiwan (Winnie's sister) and her son (my nephew) are here. They are all playing ma-jong downstairs tonight. My niece came home today too from CA. Tomorrow, Chia's mom will be back from Taiwan. <br>
Can you imagine my house? <br></div>
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<b><span style="font-weight:bold">From:</span></b> Suzanne Daigle <<a href="mailto:sdaigle4@gmail.com" target="_blank">sdaigle4@gmail.com</a>><br><b><span style="font-weight:bold">To:</span></b> World wide Open Space Technology email list <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org" target="_blank">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>><br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Sent:</span></b> Fri, July 1, 2011 8:30:14 AM<br><b><span style="font-weight:bold">Subject:</span></b> [OSList] Open Space - A Celebration of Life (long)<br></font><br>
<p class="MsoNormal">July 1<sup>st</sup> Canada Day (I am Canadian) on the eve of July 4<sup>th</sup> US Independence Day (my adopted country where I live).<span> </span>I still can’t quite believe that it was only a little over 2 years ago that Open Space came into my life. <span></span>Two years ago, I remember it as if it was yesterday and yet it feels like a lifetime ago!<span> </span>Something happened that day and that weekend that shocked me, surprised me, scared me and made me feel giddy with embarrassment. Harrison created a manifesto on something I had written and posted it on the OS list. <a href="http://www.hhowen.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.hhowen.blogspot.com/</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.hhowen.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><br></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As I recall it now, I felt a bit like Susan Boyle, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnmbJzH93NU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnmbJzH93NU</a> <span> </span>singing “I dreamed a dream”, being discovered on the world stage. I had just started to find the true power and passion of my voice, a voice I never knew I had, a voice that boldly and bravely helped me step out, speak out, and connect me in conversations that are as heartfelt and soul deep, the likes of which I still to this day cannot even begin to describe. I look back to my past two years feeling such gratitude. Before it’s as if I lived on a street in a small neighborhood; now I am connected to a community of close friends across the globe thanks to Open Space. <br>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Putting one foot in front of the other, trusting my intuition, facing my fears and doing it anyway, I am astonished to have facilitated, co-facilitated or participated in 30 Open Space events.<span> </span>What I saw, what I felt, what I experienced, and what I witnessed over and over again goes beyond words. How could I ever explain the unspoken pain and fear as people take the risk to invite others to something they do not know, that is so different from what normally happens (sitting in a circle, no experts, no speakers, no agenda, etc.)? How could I describe what happens in a moment, in an instant when people rush to the middle, writing and announcing their topics quickly filling the giant blank wall?<span> </span>How could I capture the essence of watching people move so purposefully from one group to another, feeling their intensity, their exhaustion, and their bliss?<span> </span>How could I ignore what happens
when people let go their armor, laughing and talking in abandon, rediscovering what it feels like to just be themselves, perfectly imperfect, knowing that they do indeed have much to contribute.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For me, Open Space was never a process, a theory, a management tool, a cult, a religion or a large system change intervention. <span> </span>From the first time I experienced it, I always knew it was so much more than that, more than what happens right then and there and more than the end results and actions that we want and expect. <span> </span>It’s an invitation to come home to the power of our lives and who we are. <br>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Truth be told, I cannot get enough of discovering the layers beneath, under and around Open Space.<span> </span>I have a longing and a hunger to know more, to hear the personal stories of others who were touched and affected by Open Space as I have been, as others have. I crave reading those stories wondering at times if it is just me, if this is as important as I feel it to be, if this is too private only to be shared with a few. I dream one day of interviewing hundreds of people, becoming the journalist that I once was, writing a “Chicken Soup of the Soul” Open Space book that speaks about what happens deep inside a person and a group when they experience Open Space and opening space to their true selves with others.<span> </span>I want to hear and write about what happens, when people let go, shedding <span> </span>their armor and facades, allowing themselves to be the best of who they are, working with others
to make this complicated world a better place.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <span><br></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yes I have much to celebrate this weekend on this Canadian and US holiday and much to look forward to because of Open Space!<span> </span>Thank you my precious Open Space friends and colleagues for this wonderful gift, for inviting me stand on your shoulders to savor this gift of life that so many have contributed to these past 25 years not the least of whom, Harrison who originated this. <span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Suzanne<br></span></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Suzanne Daigle<br>NuFocus Strategic Group<br>7159 Victoria Circle<br>University Park, FL 34201<br>FL <a rel="nofollow">941-359-8877</a>; <br>CT <a rel="nofollow">203-722-2009</a><br>
<a href="http://www.nufocusgroup.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.nufocusgroup.com</a><br><a href="mailto:s.daigle@nufocusgroup.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">s.daigle@nufocusgroup.com</a><br>twitter @suzannedaigle<br>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Suzanne Daigle<br>NuFocus Strategic Group<br>7159 Victoria Circle<br>University Park, FL 34201<br>FL 941-359-8877; <br>CT 203-722-2009<br><a href="http://www.nufocusgroup.com" target="_blank">www.nufocusgroup.com</a><br>
<a href="mailto:s.daigle@nufocusgroup.com" target="_blank">s.daigle@nufocusgroup.com</a><br>twitter @suzannedaigle<br><br>