Harrison Owen on presence

Harrison Owen muses on circles, presence and Open Space on the OSLIST:

As I have listened to this conversation (a very rich one!) random thoughts came to mind – which may actually fit together? The first one went something like this. We speak, understandably, about “doing an Open Space” – but I suspect that may box us into a corner we need not be stuck in. “Doing and Open Space” implies that we are following a certain set of prescribed procedures, after all Open Space Technology is a method. This is true, but it may also hide a larger truth, I think. We don’t do an Open Space – we are an open space in which we and our fellows find meaning and purpose, or not. For some of us that space may be very constricted, and those lives tend to look pretty much the same way – narrow and locked into set patterns and expectations, which may even become comfortable, like old shoes. Others seem to occupy a much more commodious space in which change and possibility are constant companions and experiencing that novelty is a real high. All of us have the potential to expand our space, or maybe more accurately, to recognize and acknowledge the larger possibilities which could be ours. I think what happens in an Open Space event is that we are invited to consider those possibilities and make them our own, if we so choose. I once wrote a book, “Expanding our Now” (Berrett-Koehler) which attempted to make precisely this point. So we might more fruitfully understand that all of life is open space and an Open Space gathering is simply a moment in time/space when we are encouraged to go exploring. So it is not so much about “Doing an Open Space” as about being fully and intentionally present in the infinity of life space available – at least so far as we are able. Corollary to this would be that the Open Space event is not something strange, unique and different – it is just life. All of life is open space. We must choose whether that space is expansive or constricted for us.

Then I thought of a song I have always enjoyed, “All of Life’s a Circle,” sung by a favorite whose name has disappeared in a senior moment. You might think of this as variations on a theme. It is true that we may square the circle, bisect the circle (semi-circle), even go around in circles – those are choices which may be quite appropriate under certain circumstances. But that does not change the fundamental reality that all of life is a circle. A circle of friends, a circle of peers and colleagues, a circle of power and influence, a circle of life and death. We may attempt to reduce life to straight lines (“A career path”), sharp angles and squared intersections (the standard PERT chart and project management schema) or even get life in a box, a nice, neat rectilinear box. But at the end of the day, and indeed on every day, life will go its own way as a circle, the transformation of circles, the inter-connection and overlapping of circles, all contained in a larger circle.

Presence is our way of being in the great circle(s) of life. This may be a grudging presence, a distracted presence, a frantic presence, or something approaching a full, intentional, appreciative presence in which the infinite possibilities (good and bad) of life are acknowledged and engaged. To a certain extent the nature of our presence is a matter of choice, but no matter the choices made or the constraints encountered there is always the possibility of an expanded presence in the great open circle of life. I think.

And Open Space Technology? For me every Open Space gathering becomes an opportunity to practice our presence, should we choose to do so. On the surface it will appear that important issues are raised, problems solved, plans made, organization grown, products designed. All important, and for most participants probably sufficient to meet expectations, or not. But beneath (above?) it all I experience a practice of presence – becoming more fully engaged with our selves, our fellows, and our world. Just living more intentionally in the great open circle of life. Or something.

[tags]openspacetech, harrison owen, presence[/tags]