The Perfect Storm
A few years ago the movie The Perfect Storm told the story of a combination of conditions leading to a massive storm in the Atlantic Ocean. In the middle of it all, at a point of calamitous intersection, a ship was precisely in the wrong place. Ah, the drama.
Often our lives can feel like we are in the midst of a Perfect Storm. Too many things can go wrong at the same time. We can end up feeling overwhelmed – swamped as was that poor vessel in the middle of the Atlantic.
In our arena with Joe and Babs and Shorty we got to witness a Perfect Storm of a different nature. Several human strategies lined up all at the same time so that Joe gingerly stepped over a rail suspended between two standards in the middle of the arena.
That might not seem to be much of a “storm” but it was absolutely huge. A group of teens had been trying to get that to happen over a course of four weekly sessions. They came into the session discouraged that they were still working on the same task, wanting to give up, likely believing that it was impossible.
And then came the perfect storm, the perfect alignment of conditions. It happened. So let me identify all of these elements.
First of all we had changed horses for the session. Certainly, the previous horses we had used (Niska and Shmu) were perfectly capable of going over the obstacle but the energy and lack of confidence of the group meant that they had no real need to do so. Sometimes we need to radically change who we are in relationship with to be able to get life going ahead. Perhaps we got stuck in a group of friends, or with a product in the workplace that we are committed to, or a culture of attitudes within our family. Sometimes we just need to try investing in different relationships to bring out more of our potential.
Secondly, the group of teens started to use resources around them that had been ignored up until that successful session. We keep a bunch of peculiar toys in the arena (old tires, pool noodles, hula-hoops) which ended up figuring prominently in the successful storm of Joe stepping over the obstacle. Sometimes we need to stop and look at what is around us that we have been ignoring. The toys created some energy in the hands of the group, and certainly the right amount and kind of energy contributed to the right amount and kind of movement in dear old Joe.
Thirdly, the group created some boundaries for the horse. While these boundaries were largely symbolic (the horse could have easily stepped over them) they still created a sense of direction for the horse, and the humans. We can end up drifting and not really getting anywhere if there are not some boundaries to help us keep a focus on direction for our lives.
Fourthly, the group success came when the group was of a single purpose and working together. This group had a tendency to lose focus and become split in their attention. Throughout the session we had seen deliberate and diligent effort to work together even in the face of discouragement.
Fifthly, the group actually made a change to the difficulty level of the task they were trying to accomplish. Rather than just accept an objective that was seemingly impossible, they decided to make it easier to accomplish. Often we set our goals too high. Reconsidering our goals, bringing them into line with what is reasonable to our own minds to accomplish, can help us to keep working and eventually succeed.
A perfect combination.
I wouldn’t say that Joe “stormed” over the rail, it was more like a delicate and careful step on his part, with an entourage of teens, adults, hula-hoops, pool noodles behind him.
Sweet
(this photo was from another day, with other horses, calming waiting for the humans to get their act together)
Whinnying off for now
Terry
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