[Dialogue] Our Legacy: Next Steps?

[Gordon Harper]

Many thanks to all of you who contributed your lists of what our 
community's legacy has to include.  These are gathered now on the 
Repository (http://wiki.wedgeblade.net/bin/view/Main/BrainStorm), and 
we'll add others to the page as they appear.  That your thoughts had a 
role in sparking the wonderful "Yes" initiative of the Cocks and 
Holcombes, as well as all the yesses that generated, makes for a 
delightful Christmas combination.

Perhaps it's time to see if we can carry this one step further yet.  The 
marvelous listing we've generated, however meaningful to those of us who 
were there, wouldn't mean much to one who wasn't.  We're currently 
hoping to pass on or at least make available some of these pieces of our 
legacy to another generation in the ICA / Oklahoma City University OIKOS 
partnership.  What would most help us do that?

I find myself looking for two things now that could build on what we've 
started.

    * First, an intuitive gestalt. If some of us would take a shot at
      saying now what the three, four or six major aspects of our legacy
      consist of, I'd find that rather thrilling--and some of these
      might form the basis for future conversations with that Oklahoma
      crowd.  These key elements or components would again be an
      individual, very personal take or witness on our heritage, none
      complete or perfect, but they could catalyze another level of
      great dialogue.  Can we still "go snake eyes" on such a list?

      Maybe we could think of this as akin to what Randy Williams did so
      beautifully this past summer at the OIKOS gathering, when he,
      along with David Dunn's help I believe on the Power Point,
      presented a succinct and intelligible depiction of our life and
      work to the assembled faculty and students.  What if each of us
      had just been tapped to sum up and explain who we are and what our
      community might have of value to share with future members of the
      League?  What would our 4 x 4 look like?

      These wouldn't have to be as terse as most items on our brainstorm
      list (skip the three-to-five words requirement, as many of you
      helpfully did in your brainstorms).  Each could be a sentence or
      even a paragraph, as we prefer.

    * Second, some expanded explanation, preferably in generally
      accepted English, of items we listed in the brainstorm.  "Imaginal
      Education" requires a paragraph or two just to give others a
      fleeting glimpse or whispery taste of what those words point to. 
      Same with "religious houses" or "two suitcases."  One of us might
      start on one of these, and others chime in with additional detail,
      which would be great. Again, as these are generated, Len and I
      will try to add them to the Repository (or you of course could do
      that yourself).

      (This makes me think of that old /ICA Glossary/ that some of the
      young interns initiated and their successors continued to add to
      over the years, that circulated in the old Phoenix office.  It was
      their explanation to each other of commonly used terms that
      newbies would hear in the course of their daily work.  Be fun to
      see it, if someone from down there still has it on a computer.)


So, those are my two suggestions for ways to pursue the conversation and 
contribute further to the legacy discussion.  I'm going to kick it off 
with my own four points for the proposed talk.  The foundational things 
about our legacy that I'd want to hit (at least at this moment) would be:

---------------------

   1. Our Methods.  The amazing set of intellectual, social and spirit
      methodologies that we developed, tested on ourselves and then took
      to the world.  These of course include but go way beyond ToP.

   2.   Building a Movement.  Our understanding of what made for
      authentic community, our attempt to demonstrate a form of
      missional and disciplined intentional community and to build that
      outward in the symbolic, movemental and extended order and in the
      local and organizational communities with which we worked.

   3. Our Foundational Assumptions.  The core beliefs about the way life
      is that we operated out of, that held us together, that we sought
      to embody and communicate in things like RS-I, our singing and
      rituals and our projects.

   4. Our Historical Journey.  The stories of how we began and what
      happened to us along the way.  The programs we developed, modified
      and in some cases discarded over the years.  What we sought to
      awaken or put in place as we tried to discern and respond to the
      call and claim on our lives.

------------------------

Well, there's my first run at a talk I have no intention of ever 
giving.  Ask me tomorrow, and it will almost certainly be different.  I 
can't imagine even lightly brushing all of this in as succinct a fashion 
as Randy managed in his presentation.  Still, as we all know,in the 
lecture methodyou start with lots more than you'll finally use.

OK, have a great holiday, everyone, and as facilitators as fond of 
saying, "Someone else . . . !"

Gordon



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