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| Polly |
The
weather has been brutal over the last several days. Last weekend the wind ripped all night with
gusts in the 50 mph range. The chairs on
the front porch yo-yoed from one end of the porch to other all night. We had 6-8 inches of fine, powdery, almost
sugar-like snow two days ago with another dusting yesterday afternoon. Then it got cold – really cold. This morning the temperature is hovering
around zero with a slight breeze. I
turned Rudy, the recovering
deer hound, out just after daylight.
He did his business and quickly begged his way back inside. Polly is possuming – she’s the smart one.
I
got up around 4:00 am this morning to load the woodstove. There was still a nice bed of coals and a
couple of sticks of oak caught right up.
I climbed back into bed, but never really went back to sleep. Back up for good around 5:45, I read a while, warmed by backside by the stove a
while, then read a little more.
I
cut most of our firewood last summer. I
recall slinging a maul reminding myself how nice a fire would feel on those
cold winter mornings. Today we enjoy the
fruits of that labor.
Last
November I spoke to a group of law enforcement leaders on the elements of
success. One point I always come back to
is timing. I pointed out that timing is
not just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Timing has more to do with the ability to
recognize opportunities and when the time is right to act (or not act). Successful leaders focus on the horizon,
scanning for opportunities or pitfalls, while still maintaining a sense of
where their next step will land.
To
those living in the moment, the horizon is nothing but an obscure, nondescript
strip of nothingness. Doing foundational
work is boring. Scrutinizing a budget
when revenue is high seems ridiculous. Cutting
firewood in July makes no sense.
Backed
up against the stove this morning, enjoying the work from last summer, I
recalled a quote:
“The true meaning
of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” Nelson Henderson
It
brought to mind a conversation from my days back in the office. We were discussing planning and I was asked
how far into the future I was looking.
When I told them I was looking out 3-5 years, the response was, “You won’t
even be here.” I knew that was true, but
recognized that someone else would be there and they might need some shade.
While
some of those points on the horizon are places we have never seen, the fact is,
most of life is circular. Travel far
enough around the world and you will end back up where you began. But, what about emerging issues? Distill away the filler, and most problems revolve
around a handful of recurring themes.
There truly is nothing new
under the sun.
Yet
some are still shocked some when it turns cold during the winter. And in disbelief, they pulled on their coveralls, snug down a toboggan, fire up the chainsaw
and finally start cutting wood.
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| Blue Ridge Parkway |
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