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Monthly Archives "May 2010"

The poem of our closing – Transition Nelson

May 21, 2010 By Chris Corrigan Poetry

It has become a standard practice for me now to make a slam poem from the words of opening or closing circles, as a way to reflect to a group something of it’s wholeness.  These poems are completely improvised, using the words of the participants as material.  There is a lot of reincorporation of people’s words in these poems which makes for a lovely reminder when I read it out and participants shift their awareness around the circle

A poem I wrote at the end of the Open Space for Transition Nelson.  One of our participants brought her two chickens to the event to look after them while she was away from her house.  On day two the chickens escaped, which explains one of the lines in this piece.

Practicality, courage

Where's the agenda?

Appreciative thanks

amazed it didn't tank

This scenario is a dream and it seems that

whatever happened, happened.

Woooo….

Gratitude is the attitude of rebirth

A reenergized connection, soft walk on the earth

Want to pass a torch but also linger on the porch of this

new house created by friendship

and the magic in the talk…

We gonna rock…

I'm already looking younger, cultivating the hunger

for transitioning, repositioning,

gestating and relating, digesting and reflecting

seeing what is born this morning

feeling what is important to raise

in these days of unity, community, in what is bigger than me.

I'm new to this place

but what a face you wear –

a community of angels who care.

It's open and I'm curious to see where it goes,

two feet, ten toes

I don't know, but somebody knows

and I feel direction, infection

a virus of creative work

the explosion of potential that stars from a spark,

light sparkling in the dark.

Thanks to the angels and the bees

and all that frees us to fly, respond to the calling

pick up those that are falling

and send them back in the air.

I'm more connected than ever before

walked through a door to a store full of knowledge  and inspiration

full of awe at the creation of what's going on –

knowing that together I can be strong enough

to live off the grid, draw on my own power,

this is the hour!

Even the chickens have become free!

It's hard to do this alone,

to clear a field full of stones,

to live a peace that is co-owned

bring a bell to the young,

three deep breaths,

words that rest lightly on the tongue

and hold the terror of action,

the commitment to a fraction of change

to a group that can rearrange the best of what we have –

time, ideas, muffins –

strange resources for a movement, but sustenance is a must for sustainability

so that's good.

So in the shadows of locally hewn wood

in a place free of shoulds,

I acknowledge the work we have done

and the potential of what is to come

life springing from ash,

passion leading to action,

a rekindled fire that burns off

guilt and fear.

Inspired –

our future starts here.

via The poem of our closing – Transition Nelson.

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From the feed

May 14, 2010 By Chris Corrigan Uncategorized

Been too busy to read the feed lately, but here’s some stuff:

  • Dave Snowdon argues for data over information.
  • whiskey river posts a little something that Dave might therefore appreciate.
  • WFMU shares some really interesting older progressive music sounds.

And for your further listening pleasure: Steve Mason – All Come Down from Said the Gramaphone…very nice mellow tune.

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Space has presence

May 14, 2010 By Chris Corrigan Art of Hosting, Design, Emergence, Facilitation, Flow, Leadership, Open Space, Organization

My twitter friend Durga pointed me to this article from    Euan The Potter.on the Japanese aesthetic concept of “Wabi sabi”

Etymologically, “Wabi sabi” is based on the root forms of two adjectives, both of which are generally translated as “Lonely”. “Wabishii” however focuses on the object which is lonely, where as “Sabishii” focuses on the absence which makes the object lonely. The principal of “Wabi sabi” is therefore; Beauty reduced to its simplest form, and that form brought to a peak of focus by its relationship with the space in which it exists. That is to say, the presence of an object and the presence of the space interacting to strengthen each other.

The idea that space has presence is not new. Two and a half thousand years ago the Greek philosopher Parmenides proposed that it is impossible for anything which exists to conceive of anything which does not exist and that therefore even the space between objects “exists”. This remains in modern English as the concept that “I have nothing”. In Japanese however, it is grammatically impossible for “Nothing” (Nanimo) to exist (aru). “Nothing” (Nanimo) must be followed by “Is not” (nai). The idea of the presence of a space was therefore revolutionary.

To take it one step further, a tea bowl, being a vessel, is defined by the space it contains. It is not the pot which is important, but the space. In the tea bowl it is therefore possible to have the object (Wabi) and the space (Sabi) interacting within the same pot.

I think it is fair to say that, as in the art of tea, the art of hosting works with this idea to create both containers and spaces that provide the conditions for generative activity.  It’s an elusive concept, the idea of creating beauty from things that aren’t really there, but that is why we call it an art, and when it comes off well, you can feel the strength of a well held container and the quality of the enclosed space.

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The Days of Now

May 13, 2010 By Chris Corrigan Being, Open Space, Poetry

A poem by Ralph Copleman a longtime Open Space practitioner, posted this week on the OSLILST

The Days of Now

On the night before Now

we all clambored over

and greeted each other by the gateway.

Now came the first morning.

We opened for each other many conversations

and passed cups around the shining circle.

On the second of Now,

I could see a long way in people’s eyes

which cleared to let in the light.

On the third of Now,

everyone started dialing up tomorrows,

released laughter and embraced

every future Now with braided voices

and sweat-slicked arms.

Each night Now the sky

came down to join us,

like an animal testing the scents.

On the fourth of Now

we saw magic inside ourselves

and blew gently the embers in each other.

On the fifth day Now transformed

into pieces of hours and sounds.

There was baying and mirth

and sweet fresh rubbing of skin on skin.

The sixth of Now saw us

plain and fearful, thrilled and drawn

to each other in new forever dreams.

On the seventh of Now

we redrew all our lines,

filled all the hollows, as Now expected.

At last the night Now

draped velvet and quiet

as hushed we prepared our ascent.

This night is that night Now.

It has unquenchable questions

and the same different beginning.

On top of morning Now

and all through evening Now

we waxed and shined the circle again

sipped each other’s songs

and touched old and new alike.

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Opening space in Melbourne, and the fifth principle

May 3, 2010 By Chris Corrigan Open Space

I’ve just opened space at a conference here with Viv McWaters, Geoff Brown, Anne Pattillo and Johnnie Moore.  We’ve got a two day, full on participatory conference on evaluation with 179 people.  40 topics have gone up for our day and a half OS.

It’s sweet for me being here in Melbourne, which for me is the spiritual home of Open Space in Australia (would you agree Brendan?  :-)).  Of course for me that impression largely comes from the fact that this was Father Brian Banibridge’s  home, and I regret that I never made it here while he was alive, only able to meet him over the years at various OSonOS gatherings or when he stopped by our place on retreat or en route to elsewhere.

Brian of course was such a stalwart member of our community…he and Viv have hosted trainings in Australia for years and of course they took the mantle of hosting OSonOS X in 2002 after Laurel Doersam and I co-hosted it in Vancouver. It’s such a pleasure to be here working with Viv and our team in this place, with Brian’s presence very much in our mind.

And so as way of honouring Brian in our own little way today we took the unprecedented step of officially adding a fifth principle to the Open Space canon.  Of course the four principles are very important and probably all we need, but Brian always posted a fifth one up when he worked: Be Prepared to be Surprised.   For years I have also made a poster with that one on it and put it up in the room, but today in my opening I elevated that most excellent phrase by making it the third principle of five.  It comes right after Whoever comes… and Whatever happens…  Be Prepared to be Surprised.  And then When it starts… and when it’s over…lovely.

It seems a perfectly natural place to put it, and, being here in Melbourne,  it seemed a perfectly natural act to just say out loud “Open Space has 5 principles and one law…”  Viv and I both got a little shiver up our spine, our own little testimonial to a great friend of our community of practice whose presence we miss dearly.

So from now on it’ll be five principles for me, and in reciting them I always see in my own mind Harrison’s call to simplicity, Anne Stadler’s call to take simplicity seriously (which helped Harrison get the principles right – that IS the story, right?) and Brian’s mischievous imperative to be open to surprise.

So as we prepare to gather here in Melbourne on May 11 for a little OSonOS with 40 or so local OS-workers, and our community of friends and colleagues gathers internationally in Berlin, Viv and I invite you to officially adopt Brian’s fifth principle not for sentimental reasons, but just because it makes sense, and it lightens the invitation in just the right way.

It’s all good.

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