A Good Leader
Entry by: KMaidmarion
28th August 2015
A Stand-alone Moment
It only takes a moment to have one that is stand-alone. That doesn't require any tedious searching for. And mine has called out to me over the years - reminding me of how good it can feel - to simply give - to give of my time.
And to others, my moment may seem so inconsequential. Certainly nothing to write home about. But if I had summed it up on a post-card - it would have simply read - simply perfect.
I was Akela. Leader of a cub pack. A leader when cubs were boys and fun hadn't been fastened up with red tape. My cubs were latch-key, kids and lived and survived on an estate, where tar and cement scuffed knees and was their horizon and prison.
And in that stand-alone moment, I offered them space - a place to be curious and to feel the wonder of nature and life. In that moment I offered them hope, and a vision.
In that moment - they were blind folded - with no vision at all. The rope they followed swayed and weaved, a trail through the forest like a snake. Touch became their navigator and trust - unspoken.
They retrieved treasure - whilst their excited shrieks startled birds and made the rabbits' twitch their noses and prick up their ears. Behind their blind folds - I knew their eyes sparkled.
And in that stand-alone moment - the rain came down in torrents. In its persistence it heightened senses. A pleasant sting to their faces, which had arrived estate-grey - but had soon begun to glow, fresh and flush. And to their ears, one of the best sounds nature has on its soundtrack.
The rain - the storm.
It sounded frying-pan hot as it splattered and spat over the forest ceiling. It coursed down ancient, bark routes and plopped into fast-forming rivulets. It slid down blood-orange waterproofs only to drip into mud-green Wellington boots.
But most of all - it brought them back to life - and that made me glad.
For whilst they hunted for treasure - I hoped I'd given them something far more valuable...more worthwhile.
I hope I'd given them.... a stand-alone moment of their very own.
It only takes a moment to have one that is stand-alone. That doesn't require any tedious searching for. And mine has called out to me over the years - reminding me of how good it can feel - to simply give - to give of my time.
And to others, my moment may seem so inconsequential. Certainly nothing to write home about. But if I had summed it up on a post-card - it would have simply read - simply perfect.
I was Akela. Leader of a cub pack. A leader when cubs were boys and fun hadn't been fastened up with red tape. My cubs were latch-key, kids and lived and survived on an estate, where tar and cement scuffed knees and was their horizon and prison.
And in that stand-alone moment, I offered them space - a place to be curious and to feel the wonder of nature and life. In that moment I offered them hope, and a vision.
In that moment - they were blind folded - with no vision at all. The rope they followed swayed and weaved, a trail through the forest like a snake. Touch became their navigator and trust - unspoken.
They retrieved treasure - whilst their excited shrieks startled birds and made the rabbits' twitch their noses and prick up their ears. Behind their blind folds - I knew their eyes sparkled.
And in that stand-alone moment - the rain came down in torrents. In its persistence it heightened senses. A pleasant sting to their faces, which had arrived estate-grey - but had soon begun to glow, fresh and flush. And to their ears, one of the best sounds nature has on its soundtrack.
The rain - the storm.
It sounded frying-pan hot as it splattered and spat over the forest ceiling. It coursed down ancient, bark routes and plopped into fast-forming rivulets. It slid down blood-orange waterproofs only to drip into mud-green Wellington boots.
But most of all - it brought them back to life - and that made me glad.
For whilst they hunted for treasure - I hoped I'd given them something far more valuable...more worthwhile.
I hope I'd given them.... a stand-alone moment of their very own.
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