Here, I am….

A walk? No.

It wasn’t, what it was, was a brief 7 minute sit down.

But utterly completely, there.

3 days in a row, sneaking and stealing the time.

 

Mind Fully There

Work, shops, tasks. Driving.

Drivers who provide an endless treasury of resource material for posts.

Deciding I need to take a recess.

 

Taking an ultra brief, stop on the way.

A pause.

Same place, roughly the same amount of time spent.

Just being.

 

 

I sit.  No walking. No talking.

Just listening.

 

I am determined that if I only have about 5 minutes to spend here,  I am going to make every second count.

And that each moment, I’ll feel, and listen, taste the air and breathe it all in.

 

As if…. they were my only 5 minutes left.
And so I do.

 

It is a magical and  illuminating way, to spend this short span of time.

 

 

 

Karen’s post at Healing your grief  recently included a quote by William Blake.

It seems to sum up what I’ve been doing in these pauses.

 

“To see a World  in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven    in a Wild Flower,

Hold Infinity

in the palm of your hand

And

Eternity in an hour.”

William Blake

 

 

It is the holding “Eternity in an hour…”   that captivates my interest most right now.

 

 

 

Google

 

Google, as always is a wonderful delightful Friend.

I typed in Mindfulness, to see what I might come up with.  After a few scroll downs, I found something of that piqued my interest.

 

 

Mindfulness

What?   Harvard?  and mindfulness…. really?

It caught my eye.

 

 

Harvard Business Review…….    If You Aspire to be a Great Leader

 

In a survey of 2,000 employees, Bain & Company found that among 33 leadership traits — including creating compelling objectives, expressing ideas clearly, and being receptive to input — the ability to be mindfully present (also called centeredness) is the most essential of all.

 

Research also suggests that there’s a direct correlation between leaders’ mindfulness and the well-being and performance of their people.

In other words, the more a leader is present with their people, the better they will perform.

 

Every morning, Conant allocated a good chunk of his time to walking around the plant, greeting people, and getting to know them.

He would memorize their names and the names of their family members.

He would take a genuine interest in their lives.

To Conant, these behaviors were not just strategies to enhance productivity; they were heartfelt efforts to support his people.

 

 

 

As I read the HBR article, I found myself nodding in agreement.  That Conant chose to take an active interest in the lives of his employees was interesting.

It was also a sharp and vivid reminder to me of a previous long term, employer of my spouse.

He also, took an active participation in his employees’ lives.

A genuine, concerned interest.

What this did, was ensure the entire family was invested in the company and its success.

We, and even the children, were on board with travel and the long hours the job entailed.

I look back and think, what a smart man.

But also, more importantly, how truly, kind he was.

 

These leaders are fully engaged and present; and yes, they do get the most from their workforce.

 

 

Art is not in Isolation

You might think it odd, I find quotes and articles from business publications and don’t stick to  “arts and crafts.”

But, I’ve found we really can’t isolate areas so easily.  One bleeds over into the other.

 

I enjoyed the article enough to want to share it.