When I was young, an elderly neighbour used to give my brother and I a few small presents at Christmas. One of the gifts was always a large orange – something, whilst I enjoyed, was not of any major note. Well, it wasn’t until I asked my parents why I was gifted an orange, something we usually had in our fruit bowl.
 
I still remember the explanation my father gave, which has made me respect the fruit and availability ever since. He said that when the neighbour was a small boy an orange would have been a luxury, as it came from far away, and expensive. He would have remembered the joy he felt as a small boy, in the late 19th century, receiving something so special. My father took out an atlas and showed me where it may have come from.
 
A journey that would now take only a few short hours by plane. Back when my neighbour was a boy there were no planes, no channel tunnel, and fruits such as this would have come by sea and land. Often taking weeks to arrive, with no guarantee that they would not have perished. Hence an expensive and rare treat. Something we take for granted. It was a valuable conversation I had with my neighbours when I went round with my thank you letter. I am sure I savoured the orange so much more, once I knew what it meant.
 
It was many years later that I travelled to North Africa where oranges are grown. I clearly remember buying bags of fruits similar to those in the picture. I was reminded of the symbolism of that special Christmas present – and oranges enjoyed in the years that followed. Our neighbour always making sure that there was one for us on Christmas Day.
 
I was also surprised, when I picked up my recent fruit and vegetable order, that the fruits you see were in a tall brown bag of thick paper – almost exactly how I remember the ones I purchased in Africa.
 
The colour orange, when used in Discovery, is the Motivator part of the Insights Discovery Wheel. A blend of thinking and feeling in extraversion with intuition - using Jung’s terms. This mixture can often have big ideas that bubble to the surface and explode with enthusiasm, not always seeming to be ‘sensible’ or even ‘doable’. But that is the magic – thinking of possibilities of something new, of something that can seem daunting and exciting at the same time. Often, when these big ideas surface, the person who enthuses their idea is verbally unstoppable until they have shared their thoughts. They brighten up; they come alive.
 
Often…until someone pours the equivalent of a bucket of ice-cold water on their idea. I have sadly seen this happen all too often; I am sure I have been guilty at times too. Yet when the idea is embraced, more ideas seem to flow. A ‘yes’ attitude can encourage so much more to flow, to grow from the initial idea – and whist some pragmatism may be required later, I love to see the idea given flight, when this unbounded enthusiasm is kept alive.
 
Out of these ideas can come a new way of doing things; a new way of being; a new enthusiasm to make something happen.
 
This is often how the odd becomes mainstream. The impossible becomes possible. The daft idea becomes a great idea.
 
Look around and you will see countless things that were crazy when they were first mentioned – and could so easily have been supressed, dismissed, if the person with the idea did not swim against the flow.
 
Who would have thought you could carry a telephone in your pocket; what about adding a camera into it; even provide a way to message or mail people the other side of the world…in seconds…when once a letter would take six weeks to arrive? All this became reality from people thinking of the ‘impossible’.
 
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, about a year ago, the ways of the world have changed again. Many people have been stretched and hugely busy in work, with no spare time or energy left after long shifts at work. Many people, certainly in the UK, have been paid not to work at all – I wonder how many will have though the ‘impossible’ and are feeling alive, ready to chase their ‘big idea’. I wonder how many will have done nothing, waiting for others to reset the world. I really do hope many people will have been busy with new ideas - for that is what will move us forward, and advance the human race. It will be what makes these people feel ‘alive’; it is what will encourage them to pursue their dream.
 
If that idea is ethical, and works for a common good, and is a worthy goal - bring it to life. Make it come alive. All too few people work with joy. When you have something that makes you feel alive you become one of the few people that do work with joy.
 
I hope that those dreams don’t just go to waste, like a rotting orange on a slow journey in a ship. I hope they gain speed, energy and possibility. I hope that they are truly valued. Like the orange I received at Christmas, as a child, once I really understood the value of the gift.
 
Now treasure the opportunity, the gift to feel ‘alive’ – your ideas could, should, can be a way of making the world a better place.
 
Make your dreams reality…and come alive.
 
My best wishes,
 
Peter