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Flow of Day 3
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Story of Day 3
by Nguyen Thu Trang (Iris) Today we as participants practice hosting from the very first moment of the day, with the morning meta harvest to bring back the sense of what was going on yesterday. We dance freely in the room, embodying what we have learnt and made a posture when remembering each process we went through in the second day.
Today will be all about diving deep into what is present in the room – what is alive in each of us about the topic of collaboration. The first process we go through is called Collective Story Harvest. Five stories about great collaboration with the support of applying the Art of Hosting are told by five inspiring storytellers, and later on will be reflected through different lenses by all listeners. This is also where the beauty of the methodology lies – we as both storytellers and listeners all share and learn together from one single story. As a listener, I love Collective Story Harvest because of its ability to nurture collective learnings, but at the same time, I always am afraid of missing out because I can only get to hear just one story as all five stories will be told simultaneously in smaller groups. However, this is also where I need to practice asking myself which one is the story that my heart wants to learn from, and trusting that no matter what story I choose to go to, it will hold the learning that I’m looking for. So there I go. To a story told under the sun, surrounded by beautiful nature, about how Art of Hosting practices could support the organizing team to bring us here. The beautiful story is unfolded little by little, from the challenging beginning with a lot of doubts, fear and tiredness until the first day when we were welcome in the training. We finish Collective Story Harvest with a conversation when we sit with people with the same lens from other story as well. |
We once again share our harvest and find the red threads that connect all stories together. It turns out that even though the stories are different, there is indeed something we all have learnt in common. Trust, support, a shared purpose, the courage of letting go – those are things that keep being repeated among us.
The afternoon comes to me with a mixed feeling of excitement and anxiety, because I will be hosting Open Space Technology. My team have spent a lot of time to think about how the calling question can be, and on the last minute we changed to a question that truly resonated with all of us: “What really matters to you now about collaboration?”
I come to the training this time with the intention to practice holding space for others, and I find Open Space a perfect chance to do that. The principles that hold Open Space are all about preparing the ground and let what wants to happen happen. Because, “What have happened is the only thing that could have happened.” Hosting Open Space is a great practice of letting go of expectations and letting come. As I open the floor and hold the market place, my anxiety suddenly goes away. Many conversations have been called, and the topics are so vast that it takes me by surprise. Some are for support in a project. Some are for ideas on questions that the callers find lingering, from how to find the balance of letting go and controlling, to how to maintain collaboration in tought times, or how to collaborate with nature. Some are called “skeptic corner” for those who would love to question Art of Hosting practice through different perspectives.
Nearly two hours later, everybody comes back into the room, holding in hands what they’ve got from the conversations to share among us all. And not until this moment have I realized how lucky I am to be here holding space and witnessing the magic of conversations-that-matter. Deep wisdom was shared, and many quotes was created. I’m feeling a subtle sense of fulfillment and pride, though I don’t take any credit of that harvest.
This is what hosting is about. Hosting a process or a conversation is like hosting a party. All I can do is preparing the atmosphere, the music, the food, the wine, and welcoming people. I can’t welcome people if I’m not grounded or in a good mood, which is why I need to practice hosting myself. I can’t prepare everything well if I haven’t put myself in my guests’ shoes, which is why I need to practice being hosted. I can’t grow my hosting ability all by myself, which is why I need to be in a community that learns. Those are the Four-Fold Practice, which makes so much sense to me after I actually host the Open Space Technology.
And so, I leave the day with a mixed feeling of gratitude and a bit of regret as we’re heading for the final day knowing that I will miss those conversations-that-matter so much.
The afternoon comes to me with a mixed feeling of excitement and anxiety, because I will be hosting Open Space Technology. My team have spent a lot of time to think about how the calling question can be, and on the last minute we changed to a question that truly resonated with all of us: “What really matters to you now about collaboration?”
I come to the training this time with the intention to practice holding space for others, and I find Open Space a perfect chance to do that. The principles that hold Open Space are all about preparing the ground and let what wants to happen happen. Because, “What have happened is the only thing that could have happened.” Hosting Open Space is a great practice of letting go of expectations and letting come. As I open the floor and hold the market place, my anxiety suddenly goes away. Many conversations have been called, and the topics are so vast that it takes me by surprise. Some are for support in a project. Some are for ideas on questions that the callers find lingering, from how to find the balance of letting go and controlling, to how to maintain collaboration in tought times, or how to collaborate with nature. Some are called “skeptic corner” for those who would love to question Art of Hosting practice through different perspectives.
Nearly two hours later, everybody comes back into the room, holding in hands what they’ve got from the conversations to share among us all. And not until this moment have I realized how lucky I am to be here holding space and witnessing the magic of conversations-that-matter. Deep wisdom was shared, and many quotes was created. I’m feeling a subtle sense of fulfillment and pride, though I don’t take any credit of that harvest.
This is what hosting is about. Hosting a process or a conversation is like hosting a party. All I can do is preparing the atmosphere, the music, the food, the wine, and welcoming people. I can’t welcome people if I’m not grounded or in a good mood, which is why I need to practice hosting myself. I can’t prepare everything well if I haven’t put myself in my guests’ shoes, which is why I need to practice being hosted. I can’t grow my hosting ability all by myself, which is why I need to be in a community that learns. Those are the Four-Fold Practice, which makes so much sense to me after I actually host the Open Space Technology.
And so, I leave the day with a mixed feeling of gratitude and a bit of regret as we’re heading for the final day knowing that I will miss those conversations-that-matter so much.
Collective Story Harvest
Further resources: Collective Story Harvest to Go & Video
Open Space Technology
Question: What really matters to you now about collaboration?
