Pools , Potbellies & Small Wins

December! I love this month. I know we all do. I however particularly like it because human beings are unusually kind during this month. Heck, you could even get away with swiping someone’s card haphazardly in stores but dare you try that any other time of the year!

Jesus’ birth somehow lands on us with such a thud that we can’t help but be all ‘angelic & holy’. I’m pretty sure heaven smiles a little wider in December. It’s a shame how short lived the events are though. I mean, it’s only February and my neighbor is back to snubbing my greetings whenever we meet on the pathway. The sun is out to melt what’s left of my brain. The queue at the butchery is much shorter and men & women are always scurrying out with small newspaper packaged meat tucked underneath their arms with their eyes scanning around to see if anyone noticed them getting their 100kshs dinner. Even my friends from ‘Kambodia’, the eastern part of Kenya have stopped sending me mangoes!

I unashamedly did a lot of third wheeling in December last year. I third wheeled everywhere, anytime in anything, in any team. I lived by the mantra “Do not call to ask me whether I am busy. Just tell me where the occasion is, and the timing of it and I’ll show up!”

I took some kids swimming over the holiday (I again third wheeled of course. I am not a creature of the water. I prefer feeling my feet firmly planted on the ground, being in control of everything, but water, water doesn’t give me that). None of it was planned at all, at least not on my calendar. I got a call inviting me to tag along and as my December mantra dictated, I happily availed myself.

We got to the restaurant which was unusually packed for an off-peak day and as soon as we paid the entrance fee and walked towards the pool area, I couldn’t help but notice the pot-bellied men hurdling near the baby pool. I am not a fan of potbellies so we will not talk about those jiggly things today. The kids jumped into the water and started playing and splashing around as soon as they got their passes. As they played, I noticed this little girl in a pink flowery swimsuit walking around the pool but not quite getting in. I approached her to find out why she wasn’t joining her friends.

After a little probing, I could tell that she really wanted to get into the pool, but she was scared. The pool attendant happened to pass by and tried to drag her into the pool to which she screamed off as she wiggled out of her hold. I could see the panic in her eyes, so I tried to get her to come sit with me on the benches that were nearby.

Putting on my ‘baby whisperer-hero-save the day’ coat, I began sharing stories with her in a bid to ease her and immediately I noticed her guard was down, I invited her to come watch me put my feet in the water. I could tell how afraid of water she was but I was determined to help her overcome that at her own pace. After all, I wasn’t doing much, and I needed a distraction from the potbellies floating all over the water.

We went at it, step by step. Allowing her to set the pace but also letting her know that she is capable of more than she can imagine. About an hour later, she was dunking her whole head into the water. She was in! Mind, body and soul. And I was almost tearing. Our time was up, and we had to get her out of the water forcefully because she did not want to leave the pool.

I walked home very happy that day. Knowing that God had presented me an opportunity to lead a little girl to overcome her fear of water. I am convinced that the world needs kinder teachers. Teachers with a heart for their ‘students’. A friend once shared that they were in a season of helping their child overcome trauma that was caused by a teacher throwing them into a pool of water during a swimming class some time back causing them to almost drown, and my heart went out to them.

In the leadership spaces we find ourselves in , we ought to be cognizant of the fact that people are gifted differently and this can impact their learning and interaction processes. We ought to be leaders that care and are patient enough to nurture the people under our leadership. When we give people opportunities and walk with them step by step , we can achieve and realize a lot more.This approach will sure increase your influence as a leader and will go a long way into ensuring that everybody in your team realizes their potential.

I am a big proponent of slow living, slow learning, nurturing, and doing it all at an unhurried pace. We might live in a hurried world, but we are not of this world.

So show some kindness to someone today.

Love and Light.