September 14, 2021
The doe are preparing for their early summer birth. Their tummies well rounded and they’re packing together like true family. It’s as if the yearlings and two year old’s are still learning. This week it’s about becoming a mother. The goal is to teach the newborns how to survive as well as hide. It’s as if they’re whispering, “We shall help keep this forest growing forward.” Which brings me to a point of thought; what are you doing in your everyday world to replenish your forest? It doesn’t have to be trees, rocks and the animal kingdom. Your forest could be New York City or a middle school classroom. I asked the question on my Daily Mess podcast, “Are there any more masters in the making?” Not sports heroes. Master’s in the making. Who is investing in tomorrow’s leaders? It has to come from those who are leading today. But to get to that point of direction the next question would be, “What have you mastered?” In martial arts we are trained to believe that nothing can be mastered unless it’s been done 100,000 times. While the doe in the forest were teaching the yearlings the facts of life, the masters of the forest have generations of deer before them to give them the skills to teach the fawn to hide. In the human business world we rely so much on multitasking that there’s physically no room to master your craft. You can be good at something but is it your birth given gift? I just had a conversation with Arthur Levine the author of The Great Upheaval. There’s a huge generation gap between physical students on campus and those learning online. How important is it to get students to give to their forests by way of trusting remote learning as a tool versus something you’re being forced to do? First graders are returning to remote learning. Without focus on education the learning curve suffers not just in their homes but how they’ll handle life when they do reach college age. I study the animals in my forest because it opens my heart to our true presence and weaknesses. Are there any more masters in the making? The craftsmanship of a birth given talent?