A huge hurricane was pounding the Outer Banks of the eastern United States.  A geologist, whose specialty was beaches and shorelines, was being interviewed.

The geologist had studied the Outer Banks for many years and was speaking fondly about their unique geological features.  He was waiting for the storm to abate so he could get out and take a look at the hurricane’s impact.

The interviewer asked: “What do you expect to find when you go out there?”  The interviewer assumed he would hear a response of demolished homes, felled trees, and an eroded shoreline.  But that’s not what the geologist said —

“I expect,” he said calmly, “to find a new beach.”

— Adapted from a story in Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World by Margaret J. Wheatley.

“I expect to find a new beach.”

I find this geologist’s perspective fascinating and profound.

He…