Growings legs for emergence?
We are in this cosy time after dinner, dishes are done, everybody gathers around the fire place (stove). One more guest – participant arrived just before dinner (Ravi) and two more are on their way, driving through the night (Judith and Lieven).
I had a wonderful day, for me like summer. Most of the people here went to Volos today, the nearby city – one and a half hour drive – to buy a lot of food and stuff, and to receive and send emails. Three of us stayed here; and I worked in the little garden – weeding – and clearing some more space from the brambles to have more place to sew and plant the vegetables. In the afternoon we went with Maria and Sarah’s Greek friend to a place to press the olives. Amasing when you never saw it. We had this time more than 1000 kg of olives; and we came home with 220 liters of olive oil; very nice, clear, green olive oil. Of course it is a totally organic oil, and the guy from the press – who analysed it – was really impressed by the high quality it had.
So we had something to toast on! Grilled bread dipped – better say soaked – in the fresh oil, together with some locally brewed … (like Ouzo) as the starter for dinner. The Greek way of living, eating at the big table outside, lots of talking, toasting, some wine; funny if I realize it is November,..
Last part of the evening we looked into the design of our first half day tomorrow. Simple and elegant, diving deeper into the stories which led to this gathering. Asking ourselves what does it mean ‘to grow legs’ for our network of Art of Hosting practitioners? And then there is this funny, amasing, wonderful thing called emergence… How come four people of the original hosting team, and two of the participants couldn’t make it? And why did others showed up, even when it looked different than what was the original plan?
Are we growing legs for emergence?
November 20th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
I am curious what did the “growing legs for emergence” meant for the participants? Was it like Open Space’s law of “whoever show up are the right people,” OR understanding and acting on the scientific phenomena of metasystem transition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasystem_transition, OR even without understanding it, just using the innate capacity of all to sense from the middle and based on that, design conditions in change processes, which are the most favorable to emergence, OR something completely different?
Would you say more about what you and others in Greece meant by “growing legs for emergence”? I mean it sounds good, “growing wings” could be even better, and conceptual clarity will be the best because it can power up coherent community action.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:55 pm
I’m not sure what it would mean for the other participants; I only wrote it from my own perspective.
It was about my sensing – and deeper knowing – that this ability to get a clear sense of where you need to be and when is the right time for it, is a core competence for letting emergence happen. We were all amased that the original idea of this gathering had shifted for everyone, in one way or another. Nobody of the original hosting team (besides Maria and Sarah who live there) could make it in the end; and two people who definitely wanted to come got totally sick and couldn’t make it.
Living in emergence means for me, not getting attached to ideas, but constantly sensing into the unfolding of right time and place.