Learning from the Africans

Someone told me a most compelling story describing the treadwheel we are in, where moments of reflection and patience are few and far between. We are driven by deadlines, decisions and a constant desire to improve. Perform, drive, strive, fight, win, learn, develop and on it goes. The last ten days have been life on an autobahn. This little story couldn't have come at a better time...

There was an explorer who was sent to Africa by his company to find a certain tribe in Africa. He was on a very tight time line, so he hired a handful of local Africans to help him carry his equipment. He and his team hurried through the jungle. They raced onward for three days.

At the end of the third day, the Africans on his team sat down and would not move. The explorer urged them to get up, telling them of the pressure he was under to reach his designation before a certain date. They refused to move. He could not understand this; after much persuasion, they still refused to move.

Finally, he got one of them to admit the reason. This native said, “We have moved too quickly to reach here; now we need to wait here to give our spirits a chance to catch up with us”.

Author Unknown