I have been travelling a long way – maybe my lifetime to get to the point of CoCreation, where I am now. An amazing point with spectacular possibilities – I’m sure I can tell you even more in half a year. This journey goes on and on.
I like to say it started a year ago in november 2020. I was at an online Open Space session and had invited for “How can I create dialogue about my book before it is published?”. The answer came to me through swedish Marie: I have to cocreate the book with others! It came so strong, I felt I had to do it. My brain tried to say NO, but all my body or my heart or maybe God said that I had to. In 10 minutes I decided to throw away my manuscript and start cocreating.
With Marie and Morya (UK) we soon discovered that cocreation was about listening to what wants to emerge – let LIFE speak its own language. To me it stroke me as my christian prayer “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. I have prayed it a lot, but never got the idea of how to let it happen in my everydaylife. Now I know it is about creating together with other people: friends, colleagues, customers, managers – but is it also about creating together with God, together with LIFE. CoCreation with 2 capital C’s. Very often we try to fight against LIFE. Assuming that we need to create results and that we are able to and need to predict the future results, making a plan and forcing LIFE into our little plan. Trying to force God into my plan. No wonder I get distressed and exhausted – and even then unpredictable things happen.
I also discovered that I for more than 25 years have had a very strong sense that life and work should be with ease. It came from an experience with hyphnosis back to a previous life. I had the experience of being a monk in a small monastery church. I was standing there and the sun came thorugh the high windows and suddenly the quality of the light changed: It became the light of God and he was calling me home. Very calm and with no drama at all, I wanted to go with Him. It was a good life, but now I was tired and wanted the party to end. Then I could see my body in the church fall over and die. When I was somewhere in heaven, I got a look down to my life and the earth. I saw how exhausting everything was and how it with a little twist could be easy. Amazing. My hyphnotizer asked me to explain the twist and how everything could become easy, but it was as banal as breathing, so I didn’t bother. And now I don’t remember – I only remember the sense of ease. I know everything could and should be with ease. Now the CoCreation /working together with God/working together with LIFE gives me a hint of the way to ease…
What I have experienced and trained in our CoCreation group is listening. Check in for a few minutes to land and be present. Do rounds of listening – only listen, no comments, no seeking of consensus, no conclusion. Listen to the different perspectives from each of us – as we were blind and exploring an elephant from different angles – we are exploring CoCreation from each our perspectiv due to our nationality, childhood, age, education, working path and so on.
Something has changed during the training. Without being conscious about it, I have changed my attitude and my listening – and the difference is obvious to everyone in my church ward, where I have been chairperson for this same year as our training. I call it a lot of small miracles. Ideas came up and we realized them. I became much more happy. People grew into our community. When something didn’t work, we just got over it.
Looking for examples of CoCreation in organizations, I found my work and CoCreation with a kindergarten 10 years ago. The manager wanted the kindergarten to be a sports kindergarten. I invited the employees for an exercise in 3’s. Help each other to figure out in which ways it could give YOU deep meaning that this kindergarten becomes a sports kindergarten? They all found inspiring motivations and when I came back 2 months after, they have realised all their ideas on the projectplan for the hole year and even more ideas. I was amazed. Each of them had found their own driving force and used it and the manager had been holding space allowing them to do it.
Now I feel ready to make CoCreation agreements with organizations: If you have an intention, we can CoCreate a process with listening circles, ease and magic. What a journey!