I do these like I paint or quilt... as a creative opportunity. My goal is to use the words, and my mind to create a little story that is complete in itself
enjoy.
He held the tail end of the rope in one hand, and struck a match with her other.
He thought, I will get camp set up before dark, and suddenly everything became priority. He was the kind of guy who could not let down his team, who would do whatever was needed to make something work. This exercise in bonding was no different.
He held the rope taut while his teammate drove in the stake, and touched the match to the pile of kindling for their fire. It was getting dark, and they were running low on energy, their tank was running dry. He searched for words in his mind that would encourage the others, and wanted to create an atmosphere of excitement not panic. None of them were outdoorsy but the big boss had decided they needed to build camaraderie, so here they were.
Hungry tired in the heat, with a task in front of comfort. The air was tense with the collective worry and exhaustion. He'd felt this energy in the workroom before, when they were working into the night on a task and attention started to splinter off into individual needs instead of creative group think they needed to finish.
The current need was to build a safe place to spend the night, and they needed each person to contribute their all. So like their daily work, he now understood the reasoning behind this exercise.
He looked to his team, and knew he must ignore the mosquitoes biting into his veins, and pull his attention back to the tasks, and inspire his group to get this done. And do it with humor and cooperation.
No man is an island, we must pool our knowledge and resources to tackle a problem together. We must respect other opinions and learn to best use each other's resources in order to succeed. We have to see the value each person brings to a task, so that we are stronger as a whole. We are all important.
To be truly strong we must all see that and acknowledge each other.
Some bosses never understood it isn't about their own power, it's about the power of the group that matters and is lasting. Each person must know they are important to the whole, or they wouldn't follow a leader.
Building a camp, designing a program, finding a cure for cancer, or running a country. It's all built on respect and cooperation among each other. It's all the same isn't it?
The fire caught, and blazed up, the rope held on the stake keeping the tent firm and steady. A team mate yelled that they got all the sleeping bags into the tent and another said they had the items ready to put on a grill when the fire was at the right height. They were doing this. Together and he was proud.
