The Shrimp's Life

Recently I received a magnificent gift – an Ecosphere. This self-contained environment was inspired by NASA, as they researched into how to support life on future space colonies. It truly is a carefully constructed system which can support life for several years. Inside the glass bulb, which contains water, air, beads and an artificial grid on which bacteria grow, there are also two tiny shrimps swimming around. They add a flash of orange to this otherwise black and white world. I thought this gift to be the ultimate in executive toys. Of course busy executives don’t have time to muse on metaphors, but if they did, what similarities might they find between their own lives and that of the shrimp? How many of us live hermetically sealed lives whose not-insubstantial challenge is to find enough food to live for the day? How limited is our outlook beyond the bubble of our immediate environment? Can any of us control the hands that play with our lives? What would happen if someone decided to juggle with our home for sport? What would happen to us if they dropped and burst the bubble of our existence? When I read that the shrimp may live for up to 20% of their natural lives in the Ecosphere, I had a Buddhist moment. I felt guilt at the idea that this tiny being was swimming purely for my curiosity and delight and its forced incarceration would shorten its life. It might indeed be a cause of concern if the situation didn’t reflect the reality of so much of human existence. We live in closed environments, encouraged to fear events over which we have no control and are told what to think. By accepting this we artificially close down our depth of social engagement and restrict our loci of control. Society encourages us to compete for an ever greater share of limited resources so that we can better defend our bubbles rather than cooperate and share the abundance. We are infused with suspicion of our neighbours so that while engaged in petty squabbling we cannot collectively respond to the greater existential threats of global warming or nuclear war. These stresses may indeed shorten our lives. A still sadder thought crossed my mind. How many relationships are as stagnant as an Ecosphere? How many partners feel trapped in a controlled environment? As coaches, what can we do to lift the veils of illusion? What is the safest way to release tensions so that people choose collaboration and advancement rather than competition and retrenchment – or separation?

Job, Career or Vocation?

There is a massive difference between suffering through a nine-to-five job just to make ends meet and working long hours to answer a vocation often with no financial inducement. The career role usually falls somewhere in between, often accompanied by the demands of a growing family. Life is so hectic that the years fly past and, if there is a guiding star, you don’t have time to look up for it. It’s a common enough trap yet we run like lemmings to fall into it. Some weeks ago I was reminded of the Biblical story of the talents given by the vineyard owner to three of his staff as he left on business. To the first he gave five talents and this entrepreneurial soul invested shrewdly so that he made five more. To the second he gave two talents and the servant similarly doubled his money. The vineyard owner was annoyed to find that the third servant had done nothing with his talent so he was dismissed. I started to ponder on the plight of workers in the UK today. Imagine the single Mum, with five children, run ragged every day and wondering which way’s up as she struggles to raise her family. In time these kids reflect Mum’s work ethic and determination and become stars in their community. John and Louise, son and daughter of the town doctor, go up to Oxbridge and dutifully follow in Dad’s footsteps working 80 hour shifts in a London hospital. Snatching some time off at Meribel, they meet the loves of their lives and settle down quickly to repeat the formula for the next generation. They have demanding careers and march unquestioningly to the incessant drum – Chop-chop, busy-busy, work-work, bang-bang. Tim, nice-but-dim, chokes on the quail’s eggs he attacks with his silver spoon. In frustration he takes off to Morocco to live a little and explore the bazaars and Hashish dens. Sadly, he quickly turns to cocaine, fries his brains and wraps Dad’s Bentley round a tree in a fit of pique that ends his piques. So finally all come before the review board; how did they get on? “Well done Mum. Have a well earned rest and don’t worry, we’re not giving you another five. Instead we’ll give five each to your kids and you’ll be revered as Best Gran” “John and Louise, you can stop now, the game’s over. Did you manage to see anything of life?” “Ah Tim, bad luck about the Bentley, but worse about your brain. Coke addictions seldom end well. I tell you what, have another go and see how things work out next time – when you’ve no money and five kids” If you had the gig of coaching these individuals, where would you start? Self-Actualisation looks very different for each of them. If the busy ones had a moment to themselves would they want coaching? Long before they hear an outside voice they must learn to hear their own. Coaching, like Alcoholics Anonymous, isn’t for people who need it; it’s for people who want it. Perhaps our gift is to help people recognise the vocation they have in the very ordinary situations of their everyday lives?