| A few years ago, I learned the art of cheering when I crossed paths with a pregnant cow and an anxious farmer.
On a scenic drive through Point Reyes National Park in California, I passed a farm and spotted a cow lying on its side, starting to give birth. Overjoyed at the serendipity, I pulled over and stood at the fence to watch. But nothing happened – the mother was in distress. Being the only witness, I drove to the farmhouse to alert the farmer. Concerned but prepared, he followed me with the necessary equipment. We returned to a crowd that had gathered, cars parked up and down the street. With his tools, the farmer helped the cow deliver her baby. But the calf wasn’t moving – and neither was the crowd. We were aghast. The farmer looked over at all of us standing behind the fence. Anxiety swept over his face – as he couldn’t let this calf die in front of all these people! So, he started pushing on the calf’s chest, hoping to bring air and life into the newborn. But nothing happened. The crowd was chillingly quiet as we held our collective breath, willing the calf to breathe. No one moved. Feeling a certain kinship with the farmer, I started cheering, “Keep going!” I clapped to encourage him, and the crowd quickly joined me. We were uproariously whooping, hollering, and cheering for the farmer and the calf. With each effort the farmer made, we clapped and clamored, “Keep going!” and “Come on!” After what felt like an eternity, the calf lifted its head, coughed, and jumped up. He was alive! The crowd went crazy, screaming with joy and applauding in celebration! The farmer walked over to the fence as we watched the mother start feeding her baby. He said to me, “Thank you. There were many moments when I felt like giving up and declaring the calf dead, but then I heard all of you cheering. It kept me going – I didn’t want to stop.” We couldn’t rescue the farmer. We couldn’t help him or fix the situation. Heck, we couldn’t even give him any advice. All we could do was cheer. But the cheering was the catalyst. As mentors and leaders, sometimes people just need us to stand at the fence and cheer. © 2022. Ann Tardy and MentorLead. www.mentorlead.com. All Rights Reserved. |