Active Hope - Day 26

26th December 2018 (Boxing Day)

26 miles is the approximate distance of a marathon. Originally, from 1896 to 1908,
the distance was 25 miles (the same as that run by the legendary Greek soldier Pheidippides
when he from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to deliver news of a Greek victory, after which
he collapsed and died). The marathon distance only became 26.2 miles during the 1908 London
Olympics. Queen Alexandra requested that the distance was adjusted so the royal household
could see the race from Windsor Castle.

I over indulged yesterday and was over indulged. however, it was wonderful to spend time with the family. Today I am planning to take things quietly and spend time appreciating the gifts I have been given. I have been very spoiled but I am very grateful. 

Siobhan Sheridan is the Civilian HR Director at the UK Ministry of Defence. When I first made her acquaintance she was the Director of People and OD at the UK charity the NSPCC. Siobhan's career started in a customer facing role within financial services; it was clear that she had a flair for understanding and developing rapport with people. On joining the consumer lending business Capital One, her talents were acknowledged and she moved into HR, initially via training and development (she headed up the UK-based Corporate University), before eventually becoming HR Director for the Cards business. Siobhán moved out of London earlier this year and now lives on the coast in a stunning house with the most beautiful views of the sea. She is a popular public speaker (renowned for her pragmatic attitude and passion for doing the right thing). She is also a valued contributor on Social Media - her Twitter handle is @SiobhanHRSheri. 

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There have been two regular features of my Christmas these last few years. One of them is this series of Advent Blogs, the other is the time that I spend with thousands of others volunteering for Crisis at Christmas.

Arriving at Charing Cross Station in the mornings and walking along Whitehall towards the office I pass too many curled up bodies resting on crumpled cardboard, sheltering in doorways from the cold night air.  It breaks my heart to see the Big Issue seller with yet another set of new bruises and to hear the tale of the guy whose sleeping bag was set light the night before. 

As I pull my coat more closely around me I know that the chill I feel is not entirely about the temperature outside, but more from a sense of overwhelming despair about how some of the world's problems can ever be solved.

Joanna Macy says that

 ‘Grace happens when we act with others on behalf of our world.’ 

And I guess that is what I see at Crisis every year. People caring enough to act. Just a one example of that is a woman I will call Karen who volunteered for the first time about three years ago.

The first evening in a Crisis centre is a whirlwind rush of so many things. Guests are welcomed to a centre where they can eat, shower, get their clothes mended, see doctors and dentists, access the internet, make a call to a loved one, find a bed for the night. Each centre is run by a group of volunteers whose day jobs probably ill-prepare them for what they find themselves doing. Spending time talking with the guests is something we encourage all our volunteers to do, because many of our guest spend their days being ignored, avoided, or worse. Talking to them is one of the most important things that we do.

During the rush of that first evening I passed Karen a few times, as she sat quietly knitting and chatting to guests. 

There was something deeply calming about her presence and her focus and I found that I slowed a little every time I passed her. Later that evening I saw her talking to a young couple by the front door who were sleeping on the streets and scared to come in. Over the course of an hour she patiently coaxed them into the centre to eat, and later I spied her persuading the woman towards the showers. She came back half an hour later clearly delighted to be clean for ‘my man.’ And I watched somewhat hopelessly as the woman and her partner went off again into the night, saying they felt safer together on the streets than they would in a shelter they didn’t know.

Returning the following evening Karen asked if I would mind if she went to see if she could find the woman again, she’d been told by another volunteer that the woman had been seen earlier in the centre very angry and upset. Karen wanted to find out why. When she found her the woman explained that she had been sleeping on the streets for so long that her long dark hair had become thickly matted from tying it in elastic bands and chronic lack of care. There was a huge ball of knotted, matted hair at the nape of her neck, so thick and tight that when she tried to lay down to sleep it hurt her head. As a result, even when she could get to sleep she was frequently woken by the pain. It was clear she was in a lot of distress. After her shower of the evening before she had started to feel hopeful that perhaps the hairdresser might be able to help her. She was angry because she had been told that all they could do was to shave her hair off. Having her head shaved she said would make her feel even more ashamed than she already did. She was inconsolable, her hopes completely dashed.

Every single one of us I think has a reason for volunteering. Something that caused us to make the decision to do so. In talking with Karen about what her reason was she shared with me that she had lost her adult son in a car accident a year or so before. A proud, strong, elegant woman, she spoke of her loss gently and with just the faintest glisten of a tear in her eye.  

Her heartache was very present but so too was her warmth, her openness and her compassion.  

Over the course of the next few days I watch Karen sit with the woman and her partner for hours. She talked with them about their plans for the New Year, helped them get advice,  laughed with them, ate with them. And throughout all of that she combed. For hours and hours she gently teased, combed, untangled and snipped the woman’s hair. For three afternoons and evenings Karen worked with the patience that perhaps only a parent who has lost their own child could summon. 

On the last evening, they walked hand in hand to the hair salon again, where the woman was treated to her first proper haircut in many years. Beautifully blow dried she turned to the Karen and I watched as first they high-fived, and then giggling like teenagers collapsed into a huge tangle of a hug.

As the woman left that last evening Karen and I both said good bye to her and her partner. We never say ‘see you next year’ because we hope, that we won’t. And I’ve never seen them again. Karen returns every year and continues to channel her amazing compassion and patience into heartbreak, hope and high fives.

So, as I contemplate the start of Crisis again this year I hope, somewhat strangely perhaps, that my heart will be broken every day. Because as the poet David Whyte says:

‘Heartbreak is our indication of sincerity…..it may be the very essence of being human, or being on the journey from here to there, and of coming to care deeply for what we find along the way.’

I am lucky enough to care deeply about the work that I do both in my day job and my volunteering and am blessed to be surrounded by many other colleagues who do too. They make me want to do better every day because they deserve the best that I can possibly be. Crisis acts as a special reminder to me though every year.Whilst it is about finding homes for others I always notice that it helps me to come home to myself too. To remember some of the qualities that I want to strive to bring into my life and work every day.

‘The heart is the inner face of your life. The human journey strives to make this inner face beautiful. It is here that loves gathers within you. Love is absolutely vital for human life. For love alone can awaken what is divine within you. In love, you grow and come home to your self. When you learn to love and let yourself be loved, you come home to the hearth of your own spirit. You are warm and sheltered.’

                                                                                                                              John O’Donohue

Crisis also leaves me constantly amazed by just what we can achieve as human beings when we set our mind to do so. And each year it leaves me with a heart full of hope that we have everything we need to deal with the many challenges that our world faces today. We just need to crack on, and act on that hope, regardless of what others might say.

So I’d like to leave you with some of Joanna Macys words about Active Hope and to wish you all adventures in the New Year.

‘Active Hope is not wishful thinking.

Active hope is not waiting to be rescued by some savior

Active hope is waking up to the beauty of life

On whose behalf we can act.

We belong to this world.

The web of life is calling us forward at this time.

We’ve come a long way and are here to play our part.

With Active Hope we realise there are adventures in store,

Strengths to discover, and comrades to link arms with.

Active Hope is a readiness to discover the strengths

In ourselves and in others;

A readiness to discover the size and strength of our hearts

Our quickness of mind, our steadiness of purpose,

Our own authority, our love for life,

The liveliness of our curiosity

The unsuspected deep well of patience and diligence,

The keenness of our senses, and our capacity to lead.

None of these can be discovered in an armchair or without risk.

                                                     

                                                                                          Joanna Macey, Active Hope

Awesome

Earlier today a phrase caught my eye:

 “The Japanese have the same word for crisis as they do opportunity.”

Often there are two opposing sides in a given situation. The candidate who is successful at a job interview will result in the other potential hires not being appointed – those individuals will see that experience in a very different light (no matter how professional the interview process and gracious the rejection).  One person’s gain is another’s loss.

Today is a day of potential crisis or opportunity for two rowing crews.  It is the Boat Race (an annual event in which the Oxford and Cambridge Universities’ top rowers compete along a just over 4 mile length of the river Thames in London). As sporting events go it is unusual, in that it is a standalone annual occurrence, not part of a league or knockout competition, and as a consequence neither crew have deep knowledge of the skills and style of their competition. In the history of the race there has only ever been one draw and this was due the umpire, “Honest John Phelps”, being unable to see the finish in 1877. His boat drifted on the tide and ended up behind other vessels laden with spectators, which obscured his view, and hence forced him to declare a draw. Not an occurrence likely ever to be repeated now that we have cameras that record each millisecond and sinew strain. For the past year the two crews, with their coaches and support, have been focused on one thing – the outcome of today’s race.

Fighting it out in the Boat Race

Having worked with the Judge Business School in Cambridge for a few years, I use an example from Boat Race history in Leadership and Team Development. Inspirational academic Mark De Rond writes about it in his book, “There is an I in Team” – the Cambridge Rowing Club Manager, Roger Stephens, used a simple phrase to determine the importance of taking any course of action – when needing to make a decision he would ask “Will this make the boat go faster?” This question and the outcomes resulting from it are credited with playing a significant part in producing the Cambridge Boat Race win of 2007 (Cambridge’s success was achieved after repeated losses since 2004).  Admittedly, other decisions, such as a significant change in the crew – substituting Rebecca Dowbiggin as cox, very close to the actual race, played their part.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFwUZvpYOMg

This is a long video but good if you are interested 
in knowing more about the 2007 Boat Race

The approach of having a commonly held key question (known as a “Stephen’s Question”) that is fundamental to any decision that a business has to make, is very valuable as it ensures that focus is retained, as well as that everyone in an organisation knows the main driving principle for success.

You need to know what your key question is

Yesterday evening I went to the Barbican to see the English National Ballet’s programme of new works, “Lest We Forget” – a quadruple bill inspired by World War 1, with a brief musical interlude by Cecil Coles, a composer who was killed by sniper fire in 1918.  Two of the pieces were profoundly influenced by the impact that the Great War had on women.  Although the death, sorrow and destruction resulting from war cannot be viewed as a success, the change of women’s role in society and the increased appreciation of what women have to offer laid the foundations for the modern workplace of today. Liam Scarlett’s opening “No Man’s Land” is a case in point it was inspired by “the Canaries” – female munitions manufacturers, so called because the sulphuric acid  (as well as slowly poisoning them).  In last night’s performance the dancers’ hand were yellow and the unison of movement and light was both captivating and thought provoking – with a moving interaction of couples (men off to the front and the women remaining behind to make weapons that would kills others’ sons, husbands and fathers).

 

Munition Recruitment Poster 1914-1918

Like a top rowing crew a leading ballet corps needs to work as a harmonious team, with each individual’s effort contributing to the overall success.  The final piece of last night’s performance, “Dust” by Akram Khan (famous for creating part of the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony), was at times mesmerising.  I urge you, even if not a ballet or modern dance fan, to look at the below video, a taster of all the pieces. The use of interlinked arms in Khan’s piece (at the very end of the clip at 1.25) was extraordinary – creating at times the impression of being in a deep trench, as well as emulating the twisting torture of warfare and the changing dynamics of society.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQEjyxF319c

The crisis of World War One also created opportunities – not just by granting women greater recognition and roles in society, or for the soldiers and others from a multitude of backgrounds who became recognised as heroes, or even the nations that ultimately prevailed, but for the people who spotted opportunities in such dark times.  It resulted in the creation of Air Traffic Control and (recent Malaysian aircraft mysteries aside) a safer environment that has enabled globalisation as well as increased local and cultural awareness.  The Great War had a direct impact on medicine with the routine use of blood transfusions and the stockpiling of blood, to ensure swift treatment once required. As well as the introduction of life-saving methods of treating fractures and enhanced awareness of post-traumatic stress and the need for mental health care.  The aftermath of WW1 was a change in the world - an election in America brought in Republican Warren Harding, who wanted the USA to take a less active role in international affairs.  America started focusing on its own skills and capabilities, resulting in it becoming the self-minded, dominant global superpower it has become.  Henry Ford brought cars to the masses – leading to the start of better connectivity and easier living.  Radio commenced globally (following Marconi’s initial creation of a commercial wireless system in 1895 and subsequent British and patent in 1896, only a few used wirelesses for transmitting messages.  However, the value of radio became apparent during WW1 and the first American radio station was opened in Pennsylvania in 1920 with hundreds soon to follow – the BBC was formed in 1922 with first public broadcasts a month later).

WWI Field Radio Set made by Western Electric

There is some interesting research undertaken into the list of the 75 wealthiest people in history by Malcolm Gladwell in chapter two of his book “Outliers” (many thanks to David D’Souza for alerting me) it shows that 14 of the 75 were Americans and that 9 of them were born within a nine year span from 1831 to 1840 – hence they were the ideal age to take advantage of a period of significant transformation due to the advent of the railways, industrialisation and the emergence of Wall Street.  Humans have survived and some have grown powerful by taking advantage of opportunities.  One of last night’s dances was a twist on this – a reworking of “The Firebird” – turning it into a modern day allegory of exploitation and greed, which almost results in failure, through the destruction of the very thing that can provide value.

ENB's Ksenia Ovsyanick as the Firebird

Failure is an important part of learning – without making mistakes and developing a better solution it is impossible to develop and grow.  In the competitive and challenging world in which we live, none of us will always get what we want and hence we need to be prepared for (and also to equip others to be able to cope with) “failure”.  I must confess that I don’t often use the word, as a setback often results in a better eventual outcome.  However, with the pace of technology and the changes in the environment in which we live and work, increasingly we need to be willing to take risks.  It’s no wonder that so many organisations see resilience is a key success factor for their star performers and leaders.  We need to be good at bouncing back (like the 2007 Cambridge crew) so that we can win another day.

The Boat Race Trophy

WWI cemetery in France

Addendum: Given today’s post has such a strong linkage to both the Boat Race and World War One; I would like to pay a small tribute to the Oxbridge crews who rowed in 1914 – a century ago.  Four of the victorious Cambridge crew and one from the Oxford boat were killed during the First World War.  All but one of the 18 men headed off to war (the one who did not, Sidney Ernest Swann, became a chaplain to the army.) I pray today for peace in all places where there is conflict.