To Unify or Diversify?

Nature Sports Both

Swathes of leaves a kind of neutral green, of trees of a similar height, with similar branch structures, pivoted at a similar angle all over the mountain side. As each torrent of wind blew, the trees and their leaves moved in synchronicity. A kind of telepathy, creating a beautiful movement along the mountain path. Pleasing to the eyes in a way that penetrated to depths of consciousness, leaving memories that would never fade, but become more sacred. Such was the nature of walks along the path towards Mui Wo, in Lantau. On a different tract of mountain, this time towards Cheung Sha, in the opposite direction, a different dynamic had been laid to play out over the past decades, and perhaps longer. This time tropical palm trees standing high. Below them, a layer of trees that looked almost like slightly taller bushes, sporting the beautiful plumeria flowers of yellow and white hue. In between them, medium sized pineapple trees, with fruits and their spikes. To their left jackfruit trees, with huge sized jackfruits. As the breeze whistled through, the impact on each plant so different. Some remaining resolute and not moving at all, whilst others, the palm trees with their huge leaves swaying in a slow motion. The beauty of the unified, with synchronisation pleasing to the eyes in a matter so different to the diversity of the latter with a range of at least six different types of vegetation that formed the backbone of the landscape. Nature has beauty in standardisation, and a different kind of beauty in diversification. The environment has everything to do with the make-up of it’s composition. If the environment makes it impossible for certain design to coexist, then naturally it will be unified. It is cactus plant that survive and unify in the dry heat of the dessert. Spending time working in Norway, I recall the stretches of coastal conifer forests, a breathtaking sight to behold, but that’s all there was, coastal conifer and very little else. The rich biodiversity in the topics caters for a different standard of diversification once again. Composition is a product of environment. Nature set the precedent, and follows suite by producing the composition.

Respect The Unknown

Familiarity breeds contempt so they say. The opening minutes of bout between two fighters almost invariably consists of a minute or more of “feeling out”, or vetting. Once something is known, attacks can begin. Once strengths and weaknesses are known then they can be exploited by the opponent. It begins with respect, of the unknown. Once things are seemingly known, this opens up the avenue of disrespect. If someone knows your language, your priorities, your habits, your routine, they’re naturally in an easier position to exploit. On a recent visit to Little India, Singapore, I noticed an individual dressed rather scantily, standing in front of the temple though it was closed, with his shoes taken off, and his hands in prayer. He was serious and stout in posture and clearly absorbed despite of the commotion all around. An individuals faith is something that cannot be understood very well, as it is unique and sometimes serious. Singapore is a country that has grasped and accommodated for this aspect holistically by providing places of worship, public holidays to respect these individual needs. If someones faith is causing clear harm to others, as we have seen in France recently, then absolutely this is not the kind of respect we are talking about. We are talking about the natural tendency to respect the unknown. Recently in a wildlife preservation initiative, they had robots observe the behaviour of lions in a semi-controlled compound. The lions reaction to the robot was peculiar. It was cautious, it tested the robot. Was the robot reactive to it? Was the robot going to attack it? Was the robot afraid? There is a natural tendency of living beings to show caution or respect to the things they realise they don’t know so well. This is non-different to the workplace, and global business. In an environment where every single person is different there will be less of a tendency to impose one culture over another, to look down at anothers’ ability to grasp a language or the “in thing.” Appreciating difference creates respect. To believe we are superior is to fall trap to illusion rather than interact with reality. When we say narrow-minded, this means that rather than respect the unknown, to presume you are superior to all aspects of it. The robot could have lethal bullet being discharged from it. The lion must be cautious. Similarly, we may not know what destruction we are causing on a subtle level by disrespecting others we do not know. Ultimately we do not ever harm anyone except ourselves. Imposing superiority complexes on others distorts the extent to which we are in touch with the truth, so it is ultimately those disrespecting that are harmed.

We Decide Our Environment

The Srimad Bhagavatam, the ancient Vedic scripture, in Canto 5 talks of a mountainous region called Jambudvipa, which has dwelling regions for different groups of people, who are segregated in tern by mountains, which it cites are boundaries that would not encourage mixing of different groups. It is not always that diversity was encouraged by the scriptural injunctions, sometimes there was an abundance of diversity in the case of Lord Rama’s army for instance, and everyone worked harmoniously towards the goals set, and other times there was uniformity in the societal structure like where Jambudvipa separates the various varshas, or races, with physical formations or mountains in order to maintain harmony. Like the forest ranges on the Hong Kong mountains, some with trees almost identical for miles, and then others with complete diversity, there is rarely ever a ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer. The composition is determined by the environment. The environment in the case of trees is set by nature, as is the composition given its loom by nature. Whether it be countries, or corporates, or businesses we may be running, the environment is set by the leaders. The example leaders set is key in defining culture. Why? Because we live in a result-orientated world. If someone is capable of getting results, they are respected, and they will be accepted as leaders. If they don’t get results, they won’t lead for so long. This is the law of survival aspect in our psyche; whether consciously or subconsciously, it is something we play by. Leaders therefore need to think about what it is they want to achieve, and how. This will shape the environment, and in tern be a cause for it’s composition. How conscious we are in doing this can vary, and it is in our power to choose this. 

"Existence and non-existence, pleasure and pain, all have Time at their root. Time createth all things, and Time destroyeth all creatures. Time alone is awake when all things are asleep. Time is incapable of being overcome."

Sage Sauti to King Janamejaya, Adi Parva, Mahabharata

Time Management?

Why Bother?

I was once in Geneva, sitting by the lake, watching the famous fountain in what any passerby would assume was a very relaxed situation. However, in my mind were a thousand and one tasks I had to get through, for which there was a clear and hard consequence for not completing. These tasks had one by one accumulated, and the number had become what I felt was insurmountable to the extent that my mind made a simple mathematical calculation and said, it will not be possible to complete all of these in the time I have, therefore you cannot succeed. At that point, when success was not possible, why should I bother continuing? So I just sat by the lake quite peacefully looking at the ducks and the water, and feeling quite honestly, helpless. When the Sun began to set, reality hit home even more; I would now need to face the consequences when I speak to all those people I am accountable to. I thought about what had gone wrong. I was not managing my time properly. I was not focussed enough, not getting through tasks diligently or aggressively enough, and was facing the resultant situation. Gathering my belongings to get to the airport, I was still not focussed on the specific tasks, I was focussed on the root problem; my time management. It needed to improve, and fast. I would explain to my bosses and apologise, but the deeper issue needed to b e addressed nevertheless, otherwise it would keep cropping up. I went to the airport book shop, and purchased a book on time management, the Harvard Business School best-seller; a compilation of numerous leadership gurus tips on managing time. It was quite practical, explaining how to prioritise e-mails, and a number of other tips, and to be honest, it resulted in some more focus, and I was able to address the issue with some degree of success. However, over the years, my understanding of time management, became a little more rounded and continues to do so. There are some fundamentals that we should know regarding the inherent nature of time, which will help us not to manage time, but to respect it, and manage ourselves more consciously.

 

A Misunderstood Concept

The phrase “Time Management” was coined long ago, and is a completely accepted term by most people. It is also consistently understood. However, if we pick at the topic a little more, the branding doesn’t hold so strongly. Time is defined as “the indefinite continued progress of existence.” Management is defined as the “process of dealing with controlling things or people.” If not understood properly, the term can easily be interpreted to mean “controlling the continued progress of existence.” About a year ago I had a stint of work that led me to be in Japan, the US, and the UK all in one week. It was somewhat overwhelming, and I asked a very elevated spiritual practitioner how one should go about managing time. He smiled and replied, “Well, there are 24 hours in the day.” Whilst he spoke only those few words, they had immense implications.  Krishna says in the Bhagavat Gita, which comprise the Supreme Lord’s direct instructions to His friend and disciple Arjuna, who stands before a huge battle, that He is Time. The Supreme Lord says that He is Time! He also says that He is beyond the control of any material factors. So by this definition, it is impossible to control time. From a spiritual perspective, the term Time Management in a material sense, is in itself an oxymoron, or a contradiction. If we understand this well, we will become more pragmatic in the field of managing our activities, and will always remind ourselves of what we really can control, and what we cannot. This will lead to a far more mature dealing with time, a respect for time, and above everything, a more conscious and grounded experience with time.

 

Behind the Scenes

Once we understand that the “time” part of the time “time management” equation is fixed, beyond our control, we should understand that the “management” aspect should be regarded as management of the self, or our actions. In one sense, we could argue that we do not have so much direct control over these as sometimes factors beyond our control dictate what we do i.e. some urgent client prompted meetings, time out for certain appointments, personal factors, and so on. So even our actions, whilst majority of the time they should be under our control if we are disciplined and circumstances permit, they aren’t necessarily under our direct control. Whilst external factors can dictate our actions, external factors will seldom dictate or mandate our thoughts. For example, we daydream. We may be daydreaming in a meeting. Your boss cannot get into your mind and force you to stop daydreaming. He or she may be able to mandate you to be in the office, but they certainly cannot check and mandate your thoughts. They cannot mandate our desires. Thoughts or contemplation lead to desires, and desires lead to action. The timeframe for this isn’t necessarily immediate, and may vary drastically, but on the whole we will find it is true. We may remember a person very deeply. This may make us want to talk to them. We will then find a way to talk to them, and then we will be in touch with them. So thoughts and desires, we can control if we are disciplined. If we are disciplined in our thoughts, the corresponding desires will be encouraged, and eventually the right actions will emerge. Time continues to go by, but because our thinking is conscious, considerate of wider factors, considerate and with a willingness to serve others, our actions will follow this in a way that becomes more independent of circumstance because it becomes to do with the consciousness, the mentality, and then there is satisfaction. Determination, attentiveness, diligence can also be desired. To desire to be efficient and diligent in meeting deadlines can also be cultivated and meditated upon at the right times, and if we imbibe this into our minds, we will be far more likely to have this attitude manifest in our work-life realities in the all-powerful and pervasive domain of time.