Loving My Blank Walls
I love my blank walls
They are empty spaces
For treasures of my heart
They are my open spaces
Where I play and dance
There I draw
Dreams and visions
There I start anew
Awakening fresh each morning
There my mind wanders
Coloring my canvass with ideas
There I forget
And I remember
There I am
There I am not
Carmela Ariza (Manila, the Philippines)
Open Spaces in My Heart
I put this poem together from words used by participants in the Open Space on Future of Learning in Manila in 2011. As I listened I wrote down all the beautiful words and phrases and organized them. I listened and wrote, and when It was my turn to speak, I read this piece. SEAMEO Innotech, Manila, March 2012.
Help us to just be
Not controlling
Help us share what we learned
To listen to everyone since we are all brilliant and wise
Fill us with hope
So that we may be the rockets and stars in open space
As we sit at the edge of the lake, keep us still and peaceful
So that we can marvel at the beauty of open spaces
Thank you for the gift of the moment
To slow down, because to be slow also means to be fast
Lead us to walk towards
what is life giving
We were initially hesitant
But we have learned to open ourselves to others
We have found the open space
in our silence within
From living in tight spaces
We now know how to live in open spaces
We thank the sacred source
For the space of humility and listening from the heart
For our nature is to be free
Within this happy sacred circle
Help us bring healing to others
Make our circle continuously open
So that our learning will never stop
Thank you that we have regained our lost passion
And turned our cynicism into idealism
Beyond this meeting
Use our passions to shape a better future
May this be just a beginning of more open spaces
New choices, which are the key to freedom
Keep us curious
Help us sustain the convergence
Instil in us a sense of urgency
To embrace and own the direction towards what is right and good.
Carmela Ariza (Manila, the Philippines)
Help us to just be
Not controlling
Help us share what we learned
To listen to everyone since we are all brilliant and wise
Fill us with hope
So that we may be the rockets and stars in open space
As we sit at the edge of the lake, keep us still and peaceful
So that we can marvel at the beauty of open spaces
Thank you for the gift of the moment
To slow down, because to be slow also means to be fast
Lead us to walk towards
what is life giving
We were initially hesitant
But we have learned to open ourselves to others
We have found the open space
in our silence within
From living in tight spaces
We now know how to live in open spaces
We thank the sacred source
For the space of humility and listening from the heart
For our nature is to be free
Within this happy sacred circle
Help us bring healing to others
Make our circle continuously open
So that our learning will never stop
Thank you that we have regained our lost passion
And turned our cynicism into idealism
Beyond this meeting
Use our passions to shape a better future
May this be just a beginning of more open spaces
New choices, which are the key to freedom
Keep us curious
Help us sustain the convergence
Instil in us a sense of urgency
To embrace and own the direction towards what is right and good.
Carmela Ariza (Manila, the Philippines)
Space Open Circle
From 'Open Space Technology - A Users Guide' by Harrison Owen. I have made selections from the original text and decided how to shape and punctuate it. I have removed all the other words from the book and none from the selected phrases.
The circle is the fundamental geometry
of human communication.
A circle has no head or feet,
no high or low
no sides to take;
in a circle people can simply be
with each other,
face to face.
The geometry of the circle
and the rhythm of breath.
Show Up
Be Present
Tell The Truth
Let It All Go.
Do nothing and remain
invisible.
Be prepared
to be
surprised.
Who ever heard of a square of friends?
Jonathan Coe (London, England)
The circle is the fundamental geometry
of human communication.
A circle has no head or feet,
no high or low
no sides to take;
in a circle people can simply be
with each other,
face to face.
The geometry of the circle
and the rhythm of breath.
Show Up
Be Present
Tell The Truth
Let It All Go.
Do nothing and remain
invisible.
Be prepared
to be
surprised.
Who ever heard of a square of friends?
Jonathan Coe (London, England)
Saving the Rhinos and Me
Can we really save the rhino?
Or are we here to save ourselves?
Are we talking about the rhino?
Or are we talking about me and you?
Should we talk about them?
Or should be talk about us?
It’s hard when we have to look out there
When the answers are all in here
Is it the Rhino who’s running out of time?
Or it is us who are chasing the past?
Tomorrow seems to be now
And today seems to have gone by
We’ve all come from places near or far
Does your presence have a reason and a rhyme
How can we make our conversations
Mean more than what we came here for
Perhaps we all want answers
The question is: what is the question?
How can we find what’s good for the rhino?
If we can’t find what’s good for ourselves
Let’s try to listen more
To the calling that’s within
Let’s try to open up the spaces
For the wisdom we all have to share!
Carmela Ariza (Manila, the Philippines)
Spaces Made Holy for the Rhino
I sit on holy ground
As people open spaces
To try to save the rhino
there are spaces
Between us
Above us
Inside us
To voice
To listen
To Respect
And to suspend
We are holding the space
For a flow of meaning
That will be shared by all
Even for difficult moments
We seek to keep the space open
Today, I stand firmly on holy ground
Carmela Ariza (Manila, the Philippines)
WOSONOS 2012
In Stoke Newington Town Hall I fell in love with nothing,
and it was no thing that I loved.
Alone, knowing no-one and nothing I walked the circle
I got present
I was connected.
Presence,
absence.
The empty space of the opening circle.
Profoundly empty,
containing no thing
Through me
everything and no-thing, in me
the circle, in me
the space, in me
the people, in me
butterflies and bumblebees. In me
body, in me
mind, in me
image, in me
thought, in me
feeling, in me
sensation, in me
nothing.
It started at the right time
The right people were the ones who came
The only thing that could have happened
Was what happened
It was over when it was over.
The bees were buzzing
The ‘flies were flitting
The space was open.
The circle was squared.
Jonathan Coe (London, England)
(WOSONOS is the 'World Open Space ON Open Space', the annual gathering of OST practitioners wosonos2012.com)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)