Is it true? The word on the street (or should I say, ‘on the trail?’) is that these 4-ton beasts run about 30-40 miles per hour… but they can’t see past 90 feet in front of them. Talk about overdriving one’s headlights. So basically, any time they smell or hear something new, they charge at it.
(Sounds like the definition of a shopper gone wild.) For the one-tusked beasts, though, it’s a matter of survival. Poachers are seemingly always lurking nearby. I guess it’s all about multiple uses for their horns. (Kind of like the drivers in some of your favorite countries?) The sad and serious
truth: Rhino population has declined by some 90% over the past 30 years (according to the African Wildlife Foundation:
http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/rhinoceros
So the question begs to be asked: What’s your vision like… and how does it compare with your speed of execution? On the one hand, are you consistently suspicious of new ideas, bold ventures, and idealistic adventures? If so, maybe the rhino metaphor has merit. Just because it smells bad, or sounds dangerous, it doesn’t mean it really is. But like the rhino, we sometimes charge headlong at the unfamiliar, simply because, … well, it’s different than how we’re accustomed to doing things.
So let’s say you’re a missions agency of size and strength… and somebody suggests a different way of mobilizing in a new land. How do you go about evaluating the efficacy of such a suggestion? Might we look at it this way, in view of our unicorn-on-steroids friend: If you’re evaluating the lurking new idea based on its own merit, bravo; but if you find yourself eschewing it merely because it’s different, then perhaps we should take a page from the history of the rhinoceros. Or stated another way, just because someone yells, “The poachers are coming! The poachers are coming!”, there’s no need to overreact and trample the guy with the camera.
Got some thoughts about rhinos in a bad mood? Got an insight based on a personal experience with these not-so-gentle beasts? Did you grown up watching them out your window? We’d love to hear from you. Just click on “Comments” below and share your tusk-imony.
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