Yes, thank you for sharing Suzanne. Very moving, touching and inspiring. Thank you.
Jonathan On 22 Jan 2013, at 01:43, "Suzanne Daigle" <sdaig...@gmail.com> wrote: An International Open Space in New York City with Harrison Owen and Karen Davis (Ralph Copeland there in spirit) Sitting on a plane, I am reliving the experience, the sounds, the feel and the memory of an amazing Open Space! Three blissful days with 25 to 30 or so colleagues, friends, and strangers who became friends. Climbing the well-worn steps to this reverential and familiar place on that first morning, I am greeted by a simple circle of chairs, a few beautiful artifacts and a cascading bouquet of flowers in the middle of the floor with the early morning sunlight dancing into the room signaling the beginning of a brand new day. It feels like I am “coming home!” The Practice of Peace is working its magic already. Memories of WOSonOS London, another place in another space, soon tumble in and along with it, the excitement and nervous energy surrounding the upcoming “World Open Space on Open Space” that will be happening in St. Petersburg Florida from May 16th to May 19th, 2013. Finding the words to summarize what transpired at International House this past weekend is as daunting as creating a work of art, crafting a piece of literature or writing a symphony. How can one capture on a blank canvass, a sheet of paper or a computer screen, the essence of what happened there in all its layers and complexities, the stuff that is “real life” lived? And yet, it is no different than the hundreds of thousands of other times in Open Space when diverse people in different parts of the world came together to share, learn, explore, discover and engage on something that they are “passionate” about and want to “take responsibility” for. Learning about Open Space by experiencing Open Space was the invitation giving a chance to many to try their hand at “opening the space”, “evening news” , “morning news” and “closing circle”. And I know you would all have been as inspired as I watching people take to their roles like fish to water. Another indication that facilitating Open Space is something that can easily be learned though its practice is a lifelong journey. Our THEME: Opening Space for Peace and High Performance: Self-organizing for Myself, Others and our Planet People came from Pittsburg, from Cleveland, from Canada, from Arizona, from Chile, from Oregon, from Maryland, New Jersey and New York City. They came from Newtown Connecticut, from Occupy Wall Street, from business, from education, from privilege and less wealth, from community organizing and community service, pastors, engineers, education, finance, activists, theatre, media, consultants, students and retirees. Different backgrounds and ages, small towns, big cities and worldwide travelers, diverse in ways that were visible and less visible which invited the extreme spectrums of jarring and heartwarming conversations, lots of reflection, human beings finding each other and connecting when we least expected it while living this mix of harmony, confusion, chaos and clarity that is the stuff of real life – the self-organizing and wave riding that Harrison speaks and writes about. How ironic that we spend so much of our life “organizing self-organizing”. Yes we were all on a mission to make the world we live in a better place. And in that shared mission, time stood still in a way that made it expand. A spirit of hope, love, purpose and gratitude connected us deeply in closing circle on the third day. Nothing new really… it happens every time when we open some space in our lives, when we take the time to breathe a bit and to notice and appreciate who we are and what we have. And when that happens whether in community, in the workplace, with friends and/or family, something indescribable happens. It happened in New York City at International House between January 18th and January 20th. Thank you Karen, thank you Harrison and thank everyone for these wonderful three days! On a personal note… A short follow-up to something I wrote this past December, while in the hospital in Maine with my mom. Two years ago, I was in this same place at International House, having lost my dad a month earlier. There, I found peace and healing as I grieved his passing, feeling very connected to him then because dad shared a birthdate with Harrison, loved martinis and admired his book: Open Space Technology, A User’s Guide On January 1st 2013, my mom passed away. I had a deep longing to return to New York again. It was even more peaceful this time and I was again deeply soothed. And then something else happened on Sunday night and Monday morning when I visited Chuni Li’s family – Chuni, from Taiwan now living in New Jersey who I had met in New York at this event 2 years ago. I was greeted by Chuni’s mom and mother-in-law with bountiful hugs and comfort food, lovingly prepared. And then, as if this was not enough, her dad wrote us a poem in Chinese, beautiful words and calligraphy on special paper – something I could take home with me that spoke of this Open Space event at International House and how special he knew it had been for the two of us, Harrison and others. The tears flowed then feeling the warm embrace of my extended family, the Li family. This NEVER would have happened without Open Space in my life, a technology I was drawn to initially to do good in the workplace, which invited me to so much more. It invited me to my life and living it fully as if “coming home” to who I am at the core. Now as we prepare our welcome to Florida for all of you, I know the spirit of New York, of London2012, of Chile2011, Berlin2010 and Taiwan2009 will weave themselves into the magical surprise of what will happen at WOSonOS2013 in St. Petersburg. Thank you for your patience these past few months as you await information to make your plans for Florida. I promise that we will soon be sending you the detailed information you need to book your tickets to be with us at WOSonOS 2013. Suzanne now back in Florida -- Suzanne Daigle NuFocus Strategic Group 7159 Victoria Circle University Park, FL 34201 FL 941-359-8877; CT 203-722-2009 www.nufocusgroup.com s.dai...@nufocusgroup.com twitter @suzannedaigle _______________________________________________ OSList mailing list To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
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