The simple truth about the power of 3

You can learn a lot from buses.

None come for ages and then three come along at once. So, when they do, you notice them.

It can be the same with ideas or promptings about things we need to pay attention to.

So, if you notice the same or a similar idea coming into your head several times from seemingly unconnected sources- it can be useful to pay attention to them.

Yesterday for instance, at my local Quaker meeting, one of the themes was simplicity – of leading a full life that takes delight in life’s simple – and often priceless- treasures.

This morning –less than 24 hours after this reminder of the joy and benefits of simplicity, I had promised myself an early start in the study but my computer had other ideas. It refused to power up. The red eye of the answerphone had dimmed and it was clear that I had no power – at least in that part of the house. So, I began my usual check of other electrical points/lights (my house has what seems to me a rather arcane arrangement as far as wiring/the fuse box goes) and narrowed the problem down to the fuse box. Aha! Just as I thought, one of the switches had tripped. I reset it and went enthusiastically back to my study and tried again. Nothing. My computer still appeared lifeless. Back to the fuse box and more fruitless fiddling around. Nothing doing. I am now beginning to get rather twitchy – imagining electricians, large bills and delays to my work schedule. I’m wondering whether I can make do temporarily with an extension lead or two .

And it’s when I’m crawling around under my desk working out which lead goes with what that I notice that the red light on my power surge protector is not glowing – not because of any electrical fault, but because it has been switched to the ‘off’ position – presumably by one the cats when they had their mad half hour last night and were scampering round for all they were worth. Problem solved – and life happily restored to my computer and my day is back on track.

So, by now I’m beginning to think – aha, maybe there’s message here for me about not making things more complicated than they need to be. About not overlooking the common place, the everyday, the simple solution.

And eventually (modem problems aside – but let’s not go there) when I finally got into my email I found this

If something is simple,
...it is more likely to be practical
If it is practical,
...it is more likely to be used
If it is used,
...it is more likely to make a difference

So look at things you want to do, changes
you want to make. From the perspective
of those who need to do it, is it simple?

Hint: you might need to ask them :-)

This came to me via Paul Matthews at www.peoplealchemy.co.uk though Paul’s accompanying note said that the idea came courtesy of a chat he had recently with Peter Honey

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.
Albert Einstein

Simple, really !

Equine Dentistry

Last week I had 5 tonnes of pebbles delivered. My brilliant gardener had said she would help shift them – and volunteered the help of her teenage son. She suggested I might ask other friends to help with the task of moving this mountain (actually, it’s more akin to a beach) from the front garden to the back. But I was reluctant to do so (lots of potential lessons there, to be explored another time) and so the task fell to the three of us. And, to be truthful, mainly to the two of them.



As they set to work one sunny afternoon, an 18 year old lad passed by, paused and offered his help.
He was unknown to all of us and quite simply asked, ‘Would you like a hand with that?’. Now, my gardener had three main choices here, she could

• Accept graciously and gratefully
• Simper (well, maybe she couldn’t; in my experience, that’s not her style !) and say something like ‘oh, that’s very kind but I couldn’t possibly put you to so much trouble’
• Wonder about his motives and either quiz him on them relentlessly or refuse point blank on the grounds that he was probably on the make somehow.

My gardener is a down to earth soul (if you’re reading this, that’s a compliment btw !) and rather than looking this gift horse in the mouth she went for option 1. Result? 50% less time needed to shift the pebbles and an 18 year old (who explained, along the way, that it was a nice day, he enjoyed being outside and that it beat revising for his ‘A’ levels) has left a bigger mark in the minds and hearts of others than perhaps he’s conscious of. All by a simple gift of helping. My hope for him is that his gift is repaid many times over – that the sunshine and exercise will have re-energised him and enabled him to tackle his revision with renewed vigour.

Power is the ability to do good things for others.

E. W. Howe

All power to his (mental) elbow ! We, after all, benefitted from the physical one.

Veg Talk 3

It’s been a funny few weeks in the veg patch.

Some plants – grown from seed and tended lovingly in my shed-cum-greenhouse, are doing really well. I harvested my first salad crop today, have the promise of more to come and a number of other, slower growing , veg have clearly taken root and are developing well.

Others again grown from seed, are looking pretty sorry for themselves (can you look pretty, and sorry for yourself?) and I’m wondering whether to let them have a bit more time/space or whether to give up on them now and replace them with something that may be more suited to the soil/my talents/the weather. I’m reluctant to give up on them – but they’re taking up valuable space that could be put to better use.

Ideas must be put to the test. That's why we make things, otherwise they would be no more than ideas. There is often a huge difference between an idea and its realisation.

Andy Goldsworthy

And then there are the young plants bought from a garden centre – I chose perfectly good looking specimens, followed the instructions to the letter. And within just a few days of planting out (again, following the instructions to the letter) they shrivelled and died.

Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself. Your body and mind will become clear.

Dogen

And there are others, variously grown by me, shop bought or donated by friends – for which it’s too soon to call. So I’ll continue to nurture them and watch with interest.

Haiku on coaching NLP practitioners

New practitioners
You know don’t you you’re al(l)ways
More than you think now

Veg Talk(2)

Well – the Great Garden and Vegetable Growing Adventure continues. And with it, so does my learning. A label fell out of one of my seed trays and what I’d happily thought were leeks (and I had been a bit perturbed that they looked nothing like the picture of young leek seedlings on the packet) turned out to be spinach.

Now, the great thing is that whatever label I’d given them, they knew exactly what they were about and what they should do. These little seeds – clever things – are not at all constrained by the labels other people give them – they just set out to be the best of whatever it is they’re designed to be.

And, now that the weather and soil are both warmer I’ve transplanted some of my seedlings into raised beds. I was somewhat nervous of doing this at first – on the one hand, I knew they would soon outgrow their little seed trays and need more room – and nutrients – to develop to their full potential. But were they ready? Were they hardy enough? Was I using them outside of their comfort zone, so to speak, too soon?

There was, of course, only one way to find out.

‘All the concepts about stepping out of your comfort zone mean nothing until you decide that your essential purpose, vision and goals are more important than your self-imposed limitations ‘~ Robert White

Veg Talk

A little over five years ago I mentioned to someone that I wanted to find a gardener to help me reclaim the wilderness that was fast becoming my garden.

Five years and a couple of false starts later the transformation is still a work in progress and, quite literally, bearing fruit. And some friends and family received Christmas gifts that bore witness to this.

A couple of weeks ago I Took the Next Step. I planted some veg seeds in seedling trays, labelled them carefully, placed them lovingly in what passes for my greenhouse and have been watering them at what I hope are regular enough intervals. Each time I do, I look for changes, for some sign of growth. With supreme effort of will I have not rooted around in what appears to be inactive soil. I have not added more seeds. I’ve just kept watering them and checking they’re warm enough. And a little bit of me has been losing hope – surely if they were going to do anything they’d have done it by now?

I was away over the weekend – so just had to let them be.

And today am ridiculously happy because some of my ‘speedy salad’ is sprouting. I have one beet plant that’s proud to show its face (I’m hoping the others will follow). The tomatoes, leeks and other veg have yet to show but I have renewed hope and a realisation that not everything will develop at the same time, and maybe not everything will develop. And some of them will – now that I’ve planted the seeds, am nurturing them appropriately and resisting the temptation to interfere.

And none of this would have happened if I hadn’t mentioned to someone that I had a vision of how things could be different – and took action. Oh, and a whole lot more besides – but you’d already worked that out for yourself, hadn’t you?

Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream.

Debby Boone

April Fool

Why wait till today

To wonder what’s real and what’s not?

Wise fools always know.