founder of naked leader
Ireland
Naked Leader Week – 31 – 17 November 2003
Last week’s Naked Week prompted the highest response, ever. 631 e-mails received, with views on NLP and Richard Bandler’s legal case totally polarised. It is great to receive such a response, however alongside the many e-mails on this topic; a much bigger issue was being raised. Many of you believe that this growing community is well poised to focus on a bigger global picture. Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions, all with one common theme – we co-exist in the world, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could co-habit it.
I spent several days in Ireland, last week – both the North and the South. Indeed, having never crossed the border before, I had the opportunity to do so – 14 times – in a single car journey, on the same road! What an eye-opener to this previously ignorant Scot, who always thought the border was akin to East and West Germany. And as we meandered between north and south, the only indication of where we were was different roadside colourings – white for the North, orange for South.
The Irish have an amazing sense of humour. Last time I was there with a friend who by his own admission is a little overweight. We climbed into a taxi and the driver said he would have to get out to pump the tyre pressure up a bit to make sure the car didn’t collapse. This time I got a bit confused in a heated bar discussion on smoking and fireworks, both of which are widely banned in Dublin. Returning to the table, and thinking people were talking about cigarettes, I was asked whether “they” were banned in England. I went into a long spiel about their not being allowed in certain restaurants or on planes, only to discover they were asking about fireworks!
However, it was the opportunity to meet a great unsung global leader that made the visit so special. The Special Olympics World Games had never previously taken place outside of the United States. One day a small group of people made a true decision to bring them to Ireland. They did not know exactly how, they simply decided that they would. And they did. Led by Mary Davis, the 2003 games in Ireland was a triumph, for everyone involved. The Games brought people, athletes and communities together on a breathtaking scale, with athletes housed in Irish families, and amazing stories of personal bravery, and kindness. And just as Clive Woodward reacted to England’s world cup victory by thanking everyone else, so does Mary.
I and many others acknowledge you and your team, Mary, for all that you have achieved.