Never Out of Power
Let’s never be out of power. I’ve been following the Spain-Portugal Power Outage closely.
Danni has been biking through Portugal with her husband.
Although they weren’t the ones trapped in elevators, they were in the full experience of a two-country-level complete loss of power. All electronic payment systems were out. Unless they could pay with cash, people were stranded, hungry, and thirsty.
I knew Danni and her husband would be OK – even before I received official word. They lost electrical power, cell phone service, and running water, but they were still able to walk, bike, and enjoy the Portuguese countryside. Danni and her husband knew something I learned in an Advanced Leadership Class:
We are never out of power.
My Advanced Leadership Class took place in London, England years ago. Half of the participants were from England and half (like me) were from other countries scattered around the globe. A “class” in Experiential Learning is typically a series of hands-on challenges.
The second day of class started at 3 AM with a 2-hour bus trip to Stonehenge. Leadership has privileges. We watched the sunrise from the center of the stone circle.
We were all riding pretty high – until the next activity began. Once we were back on the bus, we were instructed:
Empty all your pockets and put everything you own into the bag with your name on it. You won’t be seeing anything you own again until you are back at the hotel. Keep only the clothes on your back. Nothing in your pockets.
They paired us up before they dumped us off. The final instructions:
We are giving each pair £5. Be back at the hotel by 6 PM.
Although still very early in the morning, it didn’t take us long to realize £5 would never be enough money to feed us and get us where we needed to go. None of us – even the locals – knew exactly where we were dropped off. All we really knew was the challenge couldn’t be solved by money.
My partner and I listened as some people complained and other people competed. Then, we went our own way. We simply started walking and made a promise to enjoy the journey – whatever came our way.
When our legs needed a rest and our bladders needed relief, we chanced upon a tiny, old church. We were surprised to find the doors open, but no bathroom in sight. We were even more surprised when people of all ages began arriving to clean the church together.
Never Out of Power
We were surprised to find the doors open.
They were a lively bunch and wondered if we had slept in the church overnight. They assured us it would be ok if we had nowhere else to go. I timidly mentioned the need for a bathroom.
They looked at each other and then exclaimed:
That’s exactly what we need!
They said this old church never had indoor plumbing. They’ve been doing fundraisers for years. They hadn’t raised much money, but they had giving hands and willing hearts. Their motto was simply:
Give what you can.
No one in the area had very much money. One of the group lived close by and could give us a bathroom to use. Grateful, we lingered to help clean the church and enjoy the feeling of community.
Before we left, we gave them all our money. It was only £5, but we decided to “give what you can” – knowing the lesson learned was far more valuable.
We are never out of power.
In hindsight, I know someone in that church would’ve given us a ride to our destination. We never asked. We weren’t ready for the day to end, and we knew the currency of kindness would take us to exactly where we needed to be.
That’s why I knew Danni and her husband would be OK during the chaos of the Spain-Portugal Power Outage. They are two of the kindest people I know.
I’m a big banker in the currency of kindness. Oh sure, I took out a little extra cash at the ATM this week, and I filled extra water bottles. Most of all, I remembered we’ll all be OK — whatever the world throws our way – when we give what we can.
From that tiny, old church community, I learned how to be never out of power.
Give what you can.
There is no greater power in the world than the currency of kindness.
Together, let’s never lose our power — or our kindness – whatever the world throws our way.
