According to Nelson Henderson, “The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” He is remembered only because his son Wes wrote a fairly simple and poorly edited work chronicling his family’s life in the Swan River Valley of Canada. Henderson moved from Ireland to settle in Ontario, moved further west to settle in Manitoba. He fought in the trenches during World War I and returned to marry, farm, and raise... Read more
Famously, Yoda observes, “Always two there are, no more, no less: a master and an apprentice.” “Well, yes, if lucky you are.” But in my experience of sending students off to mother church — and in an ecumenical setting, there are lots of mothers — I have watched in horror at the number of those apprentices who are forced to travel alone. It’s a dynamic worth describing, because in most cases you have either been an apprentice or you have... Read more
Real Yodas in the workplace and in on-on-one relationships function in a way that is very different from the patterns I described yesterday. Real Yodas start with the young yedi knight… The people I have known who functioned like true mentors always put their apprentice first. They may have had their own agendas, anxieties, responsibilities, and frustrations — but they set those aside to give their full attention to the person they were mentoring. Real Yodas find a place for... Read more
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