“Your path is illuminated by the light,
yet darkness lets the stars shine bright.”
— J.L.W. Brooks
As I interviewed my friend and colleague, Ralph Febbo, I learned that he had run ten marathons and so understood my use of the metaphor immediately. Ralph has been self-employed as a videographer for more than 35 years. I was introduced to Ralph by my favorite graphic facilitator Johnine Byrne whose talent I try to incorporate into every one of my facilitated meetings. Good people know good people.
Ralph knows how to run the technology for meetings large and small and now virtually. He is also a genius at video filming and editing. We just finished a few segments in the garden of my lakeside cottage.
When we concluded I asked him the question I am asking everyone now, “Are you feeling the effects of burnout? And, after describing my use of the metaphor of being in a marathon experience, “How is he going to run the last phase of this collective ‘race’ in the dark?”
Ralph jumped into the thinking immediately. He said he too related to this Pandemic experience as a run. He thought of it first as a 5K race, then a 10K journey and now considers it to be an ultra-marathon.
He volunteered that his clients aren’t thinking about engaging his kind of work until deep into 2021 so he has to be prepared for the long haul.
He understands the point in the race when you can’t see the finish line and running when there is no one to cheer your progress.
Ralph confessed that he is feeling numb and apathetic in being in this long-distance experience. And yet, I know him to be deeply committed and contributing; always insightful and witty.
He went on to share that he has run in the dark and was quick to share his lessons:
- Slow down and look for the next footing or risk injury;
- We have no choice but to keep going so …. Look, look…..Study,study…. and Step,step is his mantra;
- Let your eyes and your perspective adjust to the changing light;
- And play a game with the journey. (Ralph used to play ‘guess the depth of the puddle’ as he ran in all seasons until one puddle won the game and wiped him out.)
Ralph ended by saying that we are so used to molding our environment to fit our needs that we are not as practiced in adapting and making the most out of this milestone experience. He reminisced about how his parents and grandparents made much of little and shared it widely during the depression and war years.
Ralph is still working and still finding ways to contribute. I appreciate his perspectives and his friendship.
I will be running this race until the end, in the dark, with a pack of friends.
Leslie
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”
— Desmond Tutu