One Apple A Day #579 - Let them be
The other day I went outside into the shared backyard. The neighbour was there, staring at some plant that he is cultivating. When he noticed my presence, he called me over to show me something. He was observing a pumpkin plant growing and climbing a net. Its stems were crawling on the net, curling and revolving around the wires. The plant was clinging on the net to expand and stretch its branches.
“See? She knows what to do. Nobody teaches her, she just knows what to do. Plants are si wise.”
I was listening to the old man while observing that small sign of nature’s wisdom.
Plants know what to do. Unfortunately too often their natural wisdom doesn’t match with our desires. We want more and faster. We seek order. But nature it’s often slow and messy. So, instead of letting the plants follow their natural wisdom, we force them into our idea of order. We impose our control on them.
While I was there, talking with the old man, I realised how often we do the same with anything that doesn’t fit our idea of how things should be. Like with kids anytime we want for them to behave like adults.
I just had the fortune to witness the incredible beauty that sparks from a group of people when you give them the space to shine. It was amazing.
Sometimes, the best thing we can do to foster the culture of an organisation is nothing. We should just step aside and, for that liminal place, hold the space where the natural wisdom and beauty of the people can emerge. It’s not easy, I know. It requires a lot of trust and strength. But when you do it, magic happens.
Just let them be.