So, there it is.
Purity is one solution to encountering the “other,”
and Tolerance another.
Both are grounded in varying degrees of Power over Love.
Both exact their terrible costs on the oppressed
while diminishing the humanity of the oppressors.

And there is a third possibility,
one that requires a fundamental transformation in
how we see and experience one another,
a transformation based on the understanding that:
the interaction patterns we fall into
shape how we see and experience one another.
What seems to be a real and solid picture of the “other”
is merely the consequence of the pattern we have fallen into.
Change the pattern of interaction
and our experiences of one another will change.
The possibility of Power and Love will emerge.

Barry Oshry
May-June, 2018

Reprinted with Permission. Published in 2018 by: Triarchy Press Axminster, England info@triarchypress.net www.triarchypress.net Copyright © Barry Oshry, 2018 The right of Barry Oshry to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including photocopying, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. All rights reserved ISBN: 978-1-911193-48

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Barry Oshry is a distinguished educator and a pioneer in the field of human systems thinking.  Barry’s area of research, writing and teaching has been the human systems dynamics arising when people are in top, middle, bottom, and customer relationships with one another. He’s been exploring with special interest the issue of “middles” in organizations for over 35 years, and he’s written extensively on the subject.  His research has also led him to investigate the dynamics at play when dominant cultures interact with “other” cultures.

Barry received his Ph.D. from Boston University where he later taught and was Chairman of the Department of Organization Studies. His clients include Fortune 500 companies as well as health care organizations, educational institutions, and government agencies.

Barry is the author of the highly acclaimed Seeing Systems: Unlocking The Mysteries of Organizational Life as well as Leading Systems and In The Middle.  Barry is also a playwright whose recent stage productions include “What A Way To Make A Living,” “Hierarchy” and “Peace.”   Since 1975 he’s been President of Power+ Systems Training, Inc. in Boston, which he founded with his wife and partner, Karen Ellis Oshry.