Creating Space January 25, 2007
Posted by mobius in Ad Hoc Musings.trackback
I have been pondering the question of creating space posited by Mike a while back in December. I have had many trips across
Eastern Washington since then and have had the opportunity to explore the concept of space. Trips through the Palouse and across the Basin to
Wenatchee allow for a great deal of space to be considered. The notion is emerging that there are three kinds of space (or environments, habitats, cultures, etc.) that exist.
There is the space that has existed forever, such as nature. This is the space that has existed and will always exist. The unusual thing is that we rarely take the time to recognize that it exists. We simply experience the natural space whenever we choose to recognize it. Now, we must admit that nature has a way of grabbing our attention at times. We may not notice nor appreciate a single snowflake, but
Denver recently took notice of what nature has to provide. The natural space is inescapable and is available for us to partake in.
The second kind of space is that which is created and harkens to Mike’s question of, “what understandings, skills, capacities and dispositions are required to create space to practice” the ability to act consciously in Mead’s living present? Once we recognize a natural phenomenon, we are apt to provide it with a naming convention. Wheatley (2006) found this to be an important step to identifying the efforts of leaders “as pioneers with experiences that are of value to others”. These pioneers may have only been the first to recognize an existing natural phenomenon and begin by naming it, proposing that it is only in this way that communities may begin to form. This may lead to challenges as presented by Sewell (1992) in that the structures around these shared experiences begin to harden “like the outer “skin” of a skyscraper”. What we them begin to see is only the form of the created structure from the outside, without the benefit of a real understanding of the shared experiences of those who originally named and began the structuring process.
This brings me to the final notion of space; the one that explores the inner experiences of what occurs within the structure. Once we have named and created a structure to what can be recognized, we must consider whether the same experience can be shared with others who were not of the benefit of creating it in the first place. When one considers the interactions taking place within the confines of a local coffee shop, it can be observed that many interactions are allowed within the created physical space of walls enhanced by music, and the aroma of fresh brewed coffee and steamed milk. Would the experience be the same if the space were empty? Is there a natural experience to be recognized? Might it be that this space is only “created” by the interactions of the inhabitants, thus being the only means for the third space to “emerge”? Hence, it is the shared experiences of those within the space coalescing in Mead’s living present that gives rise to the spirit of hospitality found within such created space. Plato referred to this as “essence” and similar thinking pervades Buddhist traditions, so it is not a novel concept.
Thai would have implications to those seeking to enhance or create space for such interaction to take place within. The created environment may be a contributing or detracting variable in creating the more ethereal space that allows emergence. For instance, it appears to me that emergence is facilitated in the coffee shop easier than on a subway. This does not mean that emergence does not take place on a subway; it just may not be as easily recognized. These considerations may also play a role in creation of virtual spaces used in the networking of individuals into community of practice and is what Wheatley (2006) argued toward as a crucial component of emergence.
When all is said and done, nature trumps all space as is recognized by Bedirian (2002)
And the grass, which had never really died,
was playing out once more
the cycle of its own renewal…
…just as it always had…
…just as it always will…
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