Excerpted from here. Keith Sawyer is the author of Group Genius.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you relate to the notion of acting while relinquishing control over what your action means? Can you share a personal story of a time you were able to act while letting go of your ownership of that action and its meaning? What helps you be mindful of how you can open up possibility with your actions?
Most of life is spent in improv! We have little control over most things in life (unless we live in a bubble!). My thoughts , ideas, experience, world view, words, prayers, actions, music, silence ... bounce off of others thoughts, ideas, experience, world view, ect ... everyday! Where two or three are gathered, there is improv. Like with cooking, mixing different ingredients together in variety of different of ways, a unique outcome is created every time! Thanks be to God!
There are times when my action is my right action, simply an expression of what feels right to me in that moment. In so doing, my action is meaningful to me because I'm being true to myself. I never know what my action means to the other. I don't let go of my ownership of my action -- I do let go of its meaning to the other, which is outside my control. What helps me stay mindful of how I can open up possibility with my action is to keep as my mantra 'process, not outcome,' which promotes a kind of improvising because I have no script or agenda in mind. When my action is my truth and independent of what it means to the other, I'm integrated, free and creative, and possibilities for growth open.