Wilderness Wisdom: A Leopard Teaches Mindfulness Leadership Class

Lutz Otto, March 2021

It was early in the morning, well before first light. To be exact, it was the start of 3:00 nightwatch slot on one of our retreats in the Greater Kruger National Park, and Mark Joseph was attentively watching over the group sleeping, without tents, under a beautiful blanket of the southern stars.

Moon rise in African wilderness.

Suddenly it started. A call slightly north of our camp and moving towards us. Turning on his torch, Mark purposefully shone into the dark night towards the distinctive sawing sound.

Hrrrrrrghhrrrrgg, Hrrrrrrghhrrrrgg, Hrrrrrrghhrrrrgg, .... and it was coming closer.

Fully Present To The Powerful Presence Of A Leopard

Leopards call in this way whilst patrolling in the early hours of the evening or morning. The call, which is repeated every few minutes, is made up of a series of between 12 and 17 deep inhales and exhales that sound like a rasping saw. We have every reason to respect these cats; If they wish to make us supper, they can. They will choose to do this not because of an agenda, but simply because she/ he is hungry and a suitable meal on two legs happened to present itself. We are part of nature, not apart.

Mark, now fully present, calmly undertook frequent light sweeps as he vigilantly listened. He was deeply aware and respectful of the big cat’s powerful presence. A mindfulness teacher who is a master of his craft, he understood the importance, and consequential power, of regulating his breath and thoughts when his anxiety rises.

The leopard walked past our sleeping site and continued on south. Hrrrrrrghhrrrrgg, Hrrrrrrghhrrrrgg, ....

A few of the group, participants on this “inner and outer adventure”, looked up from their sleeping mats. They could sense the night-watchmen’s calm, clear, and responsible actions, and different to that which they often felt in their day-to-day, they trusted this age-old process, and they trusted Mark. Very aware of the passing cat, they lay listening in awe before drifting back into slumber. 

Feeling humbled and exhilarated, whilst still paying attention to his responsibility, Mark spent the remainder of his shift reflecting on what had unfolded, what he had learned, and the incredible privilege of that which he had just experienced. He then handed-over to the next watch and he too feel into a deep sleep.

Sleeping under a blanket of African stars.

It is difficult to capture the magic of a sleep out in Big 5 wilderness. Imagine yourself immersed in your night watch shift, awake alone, listening to the night sounds, and holding the responsibility of watching over the group. Imagine the time to think and reflect. Imagine peering into the ink black darkness, or perhaps up at a star-lit sky. Imagine no infrastructure around you. Imagine the trust you build within yourself and the group. Imagine doing something few people have.

If you have spent time in the sacredness of true wilderness, you will know the feeling of a grounded connection to something bigger that arises within us whilst in these BIG OPEN SPACES. If you added to this, the experience of a passing leopard in the enveloping darkness, you would also likely feel the emotional opposites of awe and fear, safety and anxiety, curiosity and vulnerability. It is these combinations of lived experiences whilst out there, that we come to encounter our rawest, most vulnerable and authentic selves.

Mark’s encounter, alongside all else that we learn on these retreats, had him re-enter his day-to-day-world re-energized and with an evolved life perspective. His self-trust and self-worth had sustainably deepened, and when he now faces uncomfortable situations, the memory of his leopard encounter, combined with his broader life experience and mindfulness practices, affords him a way to purposefully respond differently.

The simple practice of undertaking nightwatch can profoundly impact the way we are in the world.

Mindfulness And Life Lessons

Shifting gear slightly, people often ask me how learning the “soft skill” of mindfulness, the skill which Mark teaches on some of these retreats, will help them in their day-to-day lives? And how is this useful to leaders or when facing challenging situations?

Upfront, if you are looking for a silver bullet or bypass mechanism, it is not that. However, if you practice it with discipline, over a length of time, and add it to suite of your personal resources, it will not only rewire the neural pathways of your brain, it can assist in transforming your life.

Mindfulness, as per Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn, is defined as “awareness that arises by paying attention, in a particular way, on purpose and in the present moment”. But how is this useful?

After every night, comes day.

When we do not have practice that stops our minds from becoming shrouded by that unfolding around us, we for many reasons, psychologically disconnect from the present, as well as our clearest thinking. Equally, as the mind-body connection is inseverable racing thoughts will activate our endocrine system and certainly raise our anxiety. Mark in the presence of the approaching leopard, could have responded very differently. Mindfulness:

• When practiced effectively offers us the ability to create a few seconds of SPACE before reacting. In these few seconds we can collect our thoughts and with greater clarity chose our response to whatever we might be facing or thinking. When chose our response, versus react, we become better human beings that contribute to creating a better world.

• Teaches us that our emotions and thoughts are information, although we feel them as we move through them, and sometimes painfully so, they are not defining. In this context, mindfulness allows us to objectively observe our thoughts and emotions, and to choose the direction we will take – That is a very different psychological position to being hooked.

• Allows us to manage our self-doubting inner-voice and helps grow our self-worth in a way that is not defined by the validations of others.

• Allows us to engage with reality as it is, versus how we perceive it, or wish it to be.

Let’s transport ourselves back to the night-watch. What if I were to tell you that when Mark came to practice meditation some 30 years ago, he at that stage suffered from almost daily debilitating anxiety attacks. Fast forward to today, he has, with focused effort, fundamentally changed his way of being in the world. He completely embodies mindfulness and walks-the-talk as a mindful teacher, retreat and corporate facilitator, who is healing, growing and empowering people across the country.

The Mark of then, would have struggled to calmly watch over his group, in the dark of the night, in the presence of the passing cat.

Our self-development retreats see our participants intentionally step out of their comfort zones, going beyond the shallow, and focusing on depth not breadth. We have fun without entertaining "forced-toxic-positivity", "quick-fix-self-help", dogma or unsupported philosophy. We aim to catalyze change that goes beyond the experience, and it is an absolute privilege to share this with the brave humans on a journey of becoming-their-best-self.

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