It was early evening and I was sitting on my deck enjoying the great summer weather. I live in South Jersey not too far from the Philadelphia International Airport, so I am frequently looking up wondering where all those planes I see flying by are headed.
At first glance I thought it was a low flying plane but I realized it was this majestic bird of prey casually drifting over head on the warm air currents. Let’s call it an eagle since I am so close to Philly.
I was struck by the effortlessness in which this eagle moved through the sky. The eagle seemed to be taking what the environment was giving it, floating easily through the early evening sky. While I appreciate the team work that geese display as they fly in perfect formation, I am in awe of eagles and other birds of prey for their commanding presence and their predilection for going it alone.
As leaders I think it is an important discipline to separate ourselves from the pack from time to time to look at things from new perspectives. It’s so easy in the hectic pace of our doing that we forget to take time to reflect on our successes and to envision the future. We can’t really lead the flock if we don’t know where we are going, how to avoid the trouble and how to spot the opportunities.
So I invite you to take 10 minutes today and to put on your walking shoes, your headphones, close your door, close your eyes, shut the TV off, or do whatever you need to do to really break away from the doing and soar high on just being for a few moments. Enjoy, it’s so worth it.
