A wonderful client and friend to VIM Executive Coaching is one of those interesting amalgams we need to treasure when we find them. By day, he is involved in the financial industry; options, bonds, futures and the like. He is super good (not exactly a financial term) at what he does. He describes his work-world as frenetic. I cannot imagine. On top of these times of social and political upheaval, not to mention being in the middle of a pandemic, he must be an inspiring executive leader in a world marked with ups, downs, and constant change. How does he cope?
A 12’ x 25’ Patch
Considering his relative wealth, our executive leader friend and his family live quite modestly in a middle-class suburb. They do not care for ostentation or expensive shows of wealth. They live quietly and in relative peace. In fact, he readily admits that he and his family are the quietest people on the block.
When he is not locked in the financial world following multiple screens and shouting into various devices connected to various parts of the world, he is often in his modest backyard. There, he carefully tends and grooms a garden plot of approximately 300 square feet. Several years ago, he had a landscaping firm bring in and “set” several large display boulders. Also, in the garden is a modestly-sized stone Buddha that he and his wife had shipped from Thailand. He sheepishly admits that the beautiful boulders and the Buddha were “much more than I should have spent.” The Buddha sits in the middle of the plot surrounded by the boulders.
“I’ll bet it is lavishly landscaped,” I said.
As a matter of fact, “No.” He has a strange, but logical ritual. Starting in February, often when the ground is partly frozen, he starts to clean, weed and rake the dirt. He finds doing so relaxing and meditative.
“Then the landscaper comes in and plants it for you?”
He again laughs and shakes his head.
He goes down to the local hardware store, and buys several packets of heirloom wildflower seeds. Total cost somewhere around $12.
“Those seeds are getting damned expensive!”
Then in mid-March, he sows the seeds into the prepared ground and carefully checks to make sure the weeds stay respectfully clear. Though he knows it is still too early for germination, he bundles up and quietly sits and meditates on an old wooden bench about twenty feet across from the Buddha.
What Kinds of Flowers?
He admits to not knowing much about flowers and in fact, he doesn’t know the mixture of the seeds in the packet. He carefully sows the seed, so as to not waste one (that is important to him), but then every morning after, early in the morning, he patiently waits for the first of the seeds to germinate.
“I cannot predict what will grow, when they will grow, what colors they will be, how they will relate to one another or how the garden will look in June when the flowers start to bloom.”
All he knows is that each flower is a surprise. The poppies, for example, will be white, or gray or lavender or salmon red or pink. He enjoys watching the butterflies or the bees, and the occasional Hummingbird.
As to the “why” of the wildflower garden, he is a lot more specific. He related that his financial world is filled with stress and he must maintain certain controls to prevent chaos. Meditating in his garden of many flowers and colors, our friend understands that in that 300 square foot plot, he controls nothing – yet, it somehow works.
“I hope I have done a good job turning the ground and treasuring each seed. I hope I have done my best as a gardener, but I am always surprised and overjoyed when it comes to life.”
“So, you’re an authentic gardener?”
He nods his head.
It is no surprise to me that although his industry is high-stress, his employees love him. His workforce is the most diverse in the industry; he values each person; he lets them work at their jobs and listens to each one fully, only stepping in to “weed out” those who are disruptive or detract from the mission of his organization.
His “rock” in this world of chaos are literally his rocks. They are true, unchanging and comforting. In the mornings, seasons to seasons, he values each flower as a friend. He is happy that he has brought them to life, and they in turn have given him “life.” Indeed, he has captured a rare gift: the gift of being a true leader.