Grandsons and Tree Fighting

My grandson is now about fifteen months old. I recently had the opportunity to once again be with him when our son and daughter-in-law visited. It was great. There is nothing like seeing your own children bring love and joy into the world and knowing that you have made a lasting connection to the future of this lovely planet. As I observed him I was struck by how well the parents were doing in training him to be a good, loving and responsible person even at his young age. This has not happened by accident. They work at it. They take their job as parents very seriously and want to provide the best teaching that they can provide so that he has the maximum opportunity to be happy and successful as he grows.

A couple of examples will illustrate my point. Since our son is American his native language is English. However, he is multilingual and he is married to a charming and wonderful French woman who also happens to be multilingual. They wish to have their children have the same multilingual ability, so they started at birth with our first grandson. She speaks nothing but French to him and our son speaks nothing but English. While it will take longer for him to learn both languages, he will eventually have the advantage of conversing, reading and thinking in both languages.

While he was with us during Christmas the grandson walked (toddled) for the first few times. It was very thrilling and exciting. Of course, now he can more than toddle and he can’t wait to go wherever he can and get into whatever he sees. Clearly, he is exploring his environment as rapidly as he can. Of course, this brings the potential for mild spills and falls and breakage as well as major disaster if he is not watched on a continual basis. Most parents find a way to curtail this exploration, primarily to give themselves a rest. Not our son and daughter-in-law. They switch off often but always seem to have one or the other watching and actively exploring with their son. In other words, they not only do not try to curtail his exploration but actively encourage it and teach him many, many things as he explores. Of course, as grandparents we do not have the stamina of his parents so we watch over him for much shorter periods of time.

So, what does this have to do with fighting trees? If you would read my book, The Leadership Teachings of Geronimo, you would know. Teaching #2, Learn To “Fight a Tree”, explains the importance of learning and training whether it be for the young growing child or the young, maturing employee. Here is some of what it says.

Like most all Apaches, Geronimo was trained in the art of war from the time he was a young child. It was the belief of the Apaches that children needed to develop the skills of survival as young as possible and that they needed to continue their training until adulthood and acceptance into the band as a warrior. …. Thus, the parents were insistent on developing early in their children the strength, skills, and tenacity they would need for survival as adults. Geronimo was trained in horsemanship so that by the time he was in his teens he was an expert rider. He learned to use the bow and arrow as well as the traditional Apache lance. And, unique to Apaches, Geronimo learned to run long distances through harsh terrain without rest. It was this ability to move great distances in a short time that saved Geronimo and many other Apaches from being trapped by superior forces.

Some Apache warriors trained their sons to “fight a tree” by hitting the rough bark of the trunk of the tree and by breaking the branches in order to develop their strength. Another method they used to develop strength was to pull up ever-larger saplings from the forest. Many children were kept awake for long periods as a way of learning to master sleepiness, and some spent time naked in the snow as a way of learning to endure the cold. They would practice their ability to conceal themselves, as they would so often have to do as an adult. Geronimo commented on some of this early training. “We would practice stealing up on some object that represented the enemy, and in our childish imitation often performed the feats of war. Sometimes we would hide from our mother to see if she could find us, and often, when thus concealed, go to sleep and perhaps remain hidden for many hours.”

Teaching

Training is an essential part of today’s modern world. Much has been written about the fact that people will change jobs or occupations an average of four times before they retire. However, there are certain basic skills that are of importance in most any position, and these are the skills that one must master as early as possible. ……

It is also wise for a company to understand that training specific to a position is of paramount importance, and that it is the company’s responsibility to provide for it. …..

While this all seems common sense it is all too common for companies to mouth the importance of training and then slough it off completely or give it minor importance. Thus, little time, energy, effort and money go into training and constantly retraining personnel to become better and better at what they do. We too often pay it lip service and view it as an extravagance or a budget item that can easily be cut, especially in these harsh times of the deepest recession in over sixty years. However, the wise leader is one that understands that, except in the worst case scenario, learning to “fight a tree” cannot be put off and is best administered when the “child” is still young.