Lessons from a Master Tracker - A state of wonder

Speargrass seeds. Photo: James Linnett

A guinea fowl whistles again from behind me as we walk down a game path in the bush. It's a sound that has the capacity to rouse me even from my deepest sleep, having heard it over and over again over the course of 14 days.

This particular guinea fowl is Renias. He has adopted its call as his way of getting our attention when we are walking in silence—natural sounds won’t disturb the animals around us when we are on their trail.

He has something to show me. In his hand is an innocuous clump of dried out, matted stems and seed heads of one of the 200 or so species of grass that are endemic to the area.

“Look at this, James,” he calls excitedly. “We call this speargrass. Pass me your water bottle and watch.”

With that, he lays the grass clump on the ground, removes the lid of my bottle, and dribbles no more than a tablespoon of water onto the seed heads. Almost immediately, the tangled mass begins to move in a twisted spiral, and individual strands begin to corkscrew into the dust, looking to bury themselves in the soil, ready to germinate.

“Isn’t that amazing!” says Renias, genuine awe in his voice. “Isn’t nature wonderful?”

This is a perpetual refrain from Renias. He has the unique ability to see the same thing every day and continue to be awed by what he sees. His recognition that what was incredible yesterday is still incredible today seems to put him in a perpetual state of joy.

This state translates to everyone around him, and our learning seems to become so much easier. Something must happen in our brains and bodies that opens up the learning receptors when we are opened by joy, and our defenses dropped.

Observing Renias’s joy in the "ordinary" made me reflect on our work lives and how often we skirt quickly past a sense of awe and wonder at the things around us, continually reclassifying what was awesome yesterday to being mundane and prosaic today. Our collective mission of continuous improvement and excellence requires us to quickly incorporate new information or accomplishments into our worldview and then build on them.

In this rush to move forward, I wonder how often we lose our sense of “Wow” for these everyday wonders. And when we do, how has our ability to learn and innovate been impacted?

When we embrace awe and wonder, just as Renias does, we transform not only our learning experiences but also the way we lead and inspire others. Recognizing and appreciating the extraordinary in the everyday can foster an environment where joy and curiosity drive continuous improvement and excellence. Let’s strive to maintain that balance—celebrating our achievements while always reaching for greater heights.

And with that, I’m off outside to sit in wonder at the explosion of color that my wife has conjured up in our garden!