I've been recalling my too brief adventures in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia this morning. For those of you on this side of the planet, imagine a smaller Vancouver where the temperature is 30 degrees celsius year round, and there's a wave pool at the equivalent of Kits Beach! 

And interestingly, a consortium of Japanese and Australian investors have committed $30B Australian to natural gas exploration and pipelines in the region. Again, some context for Canadians, imagine Calgary in 1972, but with 30 degree temperatures! This city and region are poised for a huge economic boom. And at the same time there is a poignancy to the opportunity. The city and the region are changing dramatically; immigrants (legal and otherwise), new business (legal and otherwise), and a certain sense of loss of a rural feel. And those possibilities and challenges inspired my thinking. Change always carries with it a transition that is both exciting and filled with apprehension. What will the future bring, what will it mean for me? Will I be ok? How much of the old way will go? And for many of us, the apprehension becomes a major stumbling block that prevents up from moving forward, holds us back from engaging with the new environment. And sometimes that is a good thing. Sometimes the future is not at all bright and a period of stasis and holding on is exactly what we need. And just as often, if not even more often, we do need to move forward, we need to be able to adapt to the new surroundings.

And rather surprisingly, I was reminded of the importance of adaptation by crocodiles.  On the Adelaide River, about 60 km from downtown Darwin, you can go and look at a number of saltwater crocodiles in the wild. These things can grow to over 5 metres in length and weigh 1000 kilos, they are amazing to see up close. Now, the crocodilian family has survived four planet wide extinctions. They are among the closest animals we have to dinosaurs. (A point of context, if the history of the planet was a 10 volume library, with each volume having 1000 pages, humans would show up in the last paragraph of the last page of the 10th volume. Crocodiles would likely appear for the first time in the middle of the 7th volume, or thereabouts). And we may well ask, how does an animal with a brain the size of a walnut survive for hundreds of millions of years? Well, in short, they are very good at what they do, and when times change, they adapt. For example, saltwater crocodiles actually live in freshwater, but they can survive for a period of time in saltwater, and if that's where the food is, that's where they go. They 'know' that food sources move and change, and so must they. Or consider that battles, especially between males over territory often end with scars and even missing limbs (there's no such thing as a crocodile 'nip'), the wounded croc goes to a safe bank, and sits, slowing his metabolism down (and therefore the bleeding), and uses sunlight as a disinfectant. He 'knows' that there is a time to sit and be still. And most of all, crocs are patient. If you or I (and we are their prey), went down to the Adelaide River one afternoon and washed our face and drank some water, a croc would see that. If we came back the next afternoon, she'd notice that too. And on the third day she'd be lying submerged by bank we had visited (for up to 5 hours) waiting for us to return, and when we did; well, she'd be fed. She knows that sometimes the best strategy is to give time and space, and what patiently.

 

And so as leaders in changing times, we might recall that opportunities are not static, and sometimes we have to move to make a difference for our selves and for the people around us. We might recall that sometimes in the midst of big change we need time away from the fray to recoup, to regenerate and re-create. We might recall that in times of big changes, especially in relationships, while ambushing our family, friends and colleagues is definitely not good, often the best thing to do is to be patient with each other; to wait for each other, knowing that we'll get there eventually. 

May this week be a week of opportunities found, moments of time away and patience for all of us