Pulling ideas forward

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the kings men and all the kings horses
Could not put Humpty Dumpty together again.

2008 ended an era. It was an awakening of what it means to go global. It was a death to naiveness about being able to act in isolation of everything and everyone else. Many assumptions about our way of life dissolved. The happenings of 2008 were foretold and felt many years before. Tiny fault lines in Humpty began showing up years ago. But like all systems in mature stages of development, behaviors had became more set, oblivious to outside challenges.

It's funny how when something falls apart we think we can simply put it back together again. Not this time. All systems mature and become obsolete over time. They leave only memories, not realities. Such is with the paradigm that just ended. It is gone. Now it is time to build anew and work our way forward with new systems. We need to adjust our lenses and watch for fresh ideas (once thought useless and ignored) to coagulate into somethings new, somethings closer to our dreams and hopes for today and tomorrow, not those of yesterday.

At this moment in time, I find myself letting go of assumptions, particularly for two concepts that I felt sure I had in hand. 1) What it takes to create healthy tomorrows, and 2) what and how "collaboration" plays a role in shaping tomorrow. I have been rewarded and honored for my actions with both. These two concepts have been a part of me most of my life. They have always worked hand-in-hand for me, but now in my quiet moments when I try get my hands around them, my sureness falls away, melting my knowingness.

It's not that I am throwing my knowledge about these ideas away. They are valuable and still useful. But I am glimpsing more, wanting to understand more, wanting to find ways to incorporate my understandings into a larger more potent context. My partner, Todd, and I have talked about this. There is a 'difference' we want to be making so that we can contribute to the 'difference that makes a difference' as we move our dreams forward.

We will be writing and talking about some nascent thoughts over the next several months.  We hope you will join us by making comments and contributing to our thoughts and possibilities...

Escaping to a Higher Order

In assembling complexity the bounty of increasing returns is won by multiple tries over time.
As various parts reorganize to a new whole, the system escapes into a higher order.
Ilya Prigogine

Anyone who knows me well has heard me utter this quote. It is one of my favorites ... maybe because it has so much hope in it. I will say however, that I was beginning to tire of the number of 'trys' it was taking. Then suddenly, we the American people voted Barak Obama in as our new president and I have come to understand the word "escapes" in a totally different light!

The first MG Taylor axioms is "The future is rational only in hindsight." Over the years as I thought about the axiom I now realize that I was thinking too rationally. This is true within a given paradigm, but not so when a paradigm shifts to a higher order.

Clearly, President-Elect Obama's win was not rational. It really was an escape!!! So beautiful! Think about it. In 2004, a little known person gave a speech ... not just any speech but one that called out to each of us. Mr. Obama made us us realize how starved we were for wholesome, nourished, natural born hope. He unburied our hope. His speech brought to the forefront of our minds how hungry we were to create a new world, to begin again, to find joy in each other again. Obama's speech was a tremendous attraction to our better selves ... regardless of party affiliation.

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Facilitate: to Make Easy

To facilitate means "to make easy"” The art of facilitation is the art of bringing clarity and effectiveness to the work process of individuals and groups. The facilitator's mandate is to ensure that the process is designed and implemented in a way that brings out the best thinking of each participant and the best resolution of issues from each group.

This morning I was thinking about my experience with cancer and the coming to knowing of my situation. I have had a slew of physicians and alternative health practitioners trying to facilitate my way to health. A few are quite good and others quite lacking with their facilitative skills. Cancer is a very individual experience. While there are many common elements and shared experiences can bring forth much useful knowledge, in the end it is my work to do. Work that is physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally taxing.

It seems relevant that I consider my own journey into a very foreign landscape and territory from the perspective of the MG Taylor system and method. Facilitation is such an important concept in our process and it has always been inclusive of several levels of recursion. There is no single facilitator or controller of the system. Instead, we consider three levels: Front of the room facilitator, middle of the room facilitators, and back of the room facilitators.

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Random Thoughts About The Body at Rest

Consciousness: that annoying time between naps. ~Author Unknown

 Last weekend I got to enjoy watching young Owen (18 months) sleep the afternoon away. After a very short messing about, he got so still and stayed that way for more than two hours. He was so still, so calm. His body was so relaxed and present in some strange way.  I thought it was beautiful. When Owen woke up, kind of slow, but happy, he seemed to take delight in seeing his stuff surrounding him.  Smiles, and ews and ahs ... his delightful comments about the things he cares about.  It is like he drew his world around him again.

Over the last few days the same thing has been happening to me.  I am beginning to get a new thought about this kind of sleep. This past year has been a curious one as I have moved in and out of pneumonia, surgery, and now chemo therapy, I remember some of my awakenings.  It is as if the minute before there was no me, no world ... just body. Each of these times are so different from most when I wake up full of thought, axiety, excitement, restlessness, tired, etc. etc.  I wake up to my brain, not my body!

I think there must be times when the body just takes over and puts everything conscious on hold. I like these times! I am no expert here so I give way to my imagination. I remember watching a Nova film about children growing. They don't grow gradually, but in spurts. It can be true that your son is 1.5 inches taller one day from the next! I bet the body puts the mind to rest when it is doing this stretching and drawing forth, modeling the seeds sprouting forth, working their way up from the rich soil of possibility.

I have been told that sleep heals and I have tried to be patient with the time it takes.  Mostly I have succeeded, especially when I have the "body at rest" type.  It is so wonderful.  Such a miracle to wake up and wrap my complete world around me again.  I know now that I am in chemo, that the treatment itself might be killing off some of my healthy cells that make me tired and anemic. So, I am watchful.  And appreciative that there is real comfort and peace in the midst of fighting this cancer. 

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Lilly-Pad Economics

We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is already disappearing.
R. D. Laing

I remember years ago (1962-65) when I was teaching second graders by showing pictures of a pond with one lilly pad on day 1; two on day two; four on day three, etc.  Young eyes drew large when the metaphor revealed that one day after the pond was half full, ti was full! "No way" they exclaimed.  That's when we began our own experiment accumulating rice at an exponential rate. Each day one of the students would double the grains of rice. One corner of the room got quite full and each day it took the student longer to count out the grains.  I also challenged the class to estimate how far an adding machine roll of tape would go. Such a small roll. Students estimated that one role would cross the classroom, about 35 feet.  WOW ... all the way to the principal's office! How could that be as they unrolled and unrolled. We talked about compounding interest and other such things ... project learning for 7 year olds.  We all learned a lot that year. Young minds learned to think about patterns and I think they came to know that being surprised about their assumptions was a very good thing. 

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