I received an email blitz that showed an amazing photo of an iceberg from inside the water, taken by a rig manager out of St. Johns, Newfoundland.  I suspect he’s seen quite a few icebergs in his time while steering his ship away from them.  This particular iceberg was estimated at 300,000,000 tons.  According to search.eb.com and information about the Titantic, many icebergs in the Arctic are about 45 m tall and 180 m long with six-sevenths of the mass below the sea surface.   Apparent to my mind in viewing the iceberg was how just seeing the tip of the ice above the water, with the larger mass below, was like how we are as humans.  

You know how much you have going on that others around you only know the half of.  By the same token, there is a great deal going on below the surface with others that you know little about - including with those you live with, work with or know well.  The next time you think you notice someone’s cool temperment evaporating before your eyes, consider there is more going on out of your view and give them a break.  Circumnavigate them until such time as it’s fairer weather and you get clearer indications you can approach.   

Just like you, others have their good days and bad days.  But there is a natural buoyancy to submerged ice and before you know it some of the solid chunks will even melt and rise to the surface.   

How do you handle uncertainty or even what appears as a cold shoulder from others?

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 10:27 pm and is filed under Personal and Professional Growth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.