Sometimes we get subtle reminders of core life principles, and other times they just slap us right in the face. I had one of those hard slaps recently, involving water, sand, and environmental sustainability practices.
This time last week, I was on the back of a bus traveling between Safaga, Egypt, and the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor. Earlier in the week, my wife and I were in Cairo, Egypt, where we saw the Pyramids of Djoser, Teti, Unas, Userkaf, Keops and Giza, the Tombs of Mereruka, Kagemni and Ankhmahor and the Great Sphinx. We were on a two-week cruise that began in Athens, Greece and ended in Dubai, U.A.E.
My harsh reminder came as I was pondering the Top 7 High Intensity Principles while in the deserts of Egypt and the area around the Nile River. First, I want to note that the American phrase, "the shifting sands of time," is really contrary to reality. Although 85% of Egypt is sand and there is a mighty wind that constantly blows in the desert, the times in Egypt have not shifted all that much. At least my observations are that the lessons learned over the last 5,000 years have not led to that many changes in Egypt – the sands of time have not substantially altered circumstances in light of the past.
Now on from sand to water. Our cruise took us to Port Said, Egypt and then through the Suez Canal to Safaga on the Red Sea. Without the bounty of the Nile – the world’s longest river at 3,470 miles – it seems that Egypt would cease to exist. The Greek historian Herodotus was right on target 25 centuries ago when he wrote that "Egypt is the gift of the Nile." The river is clearly the country’s core.
On the highways between the Suez Canal, or Gulf of Suez or Red Sea, and the Nile River, a bus ride is about 3 to 4 hours through the desert. It is around the Nile where the pyramids, tombs and temples cluster, where the majority of the people live and where most Egyptians have always lived. In fact, without the Nile, the country and its pyramids, tombs and temples would not exist. Although the sands of the Egyptian desert shift continuously, I observed that little has changed in Egypt – it is all about the water and the flowing rhythm of the Nile.
Of course, we all know that water is the essence of all life, and we would do well to remember it in this heightened time of striving for green practices and sustainability in life and business. The center (the core) of sustaining life is clean water – something that is easy to forget when we’re sitting in offices, airports, restaurants, or at home with a steaming cup of tea.
Interestingly, one of the items on my "To-Do" list that I worked on during this trip was a green, environmental sustainability podcast series. This research has taken me well beyond carbon counting and into material consumption, material recycling, pesticides, and herbicides. My mind has been focused on water, air and soil contamination, natural resources, food supply chains, and sustainable business.
Egypt has soared in popularity in the last few years as an offshore destination for Europe and has a young, growing population. Even as the country is gaining increased attention as a location for global business processes and IT outsourcing, the Nile still commands the greatest respect. Water! Egypt is surely dealing with the economic fall-out of the global financial crisis, but it is water that is important for survival and will continue to be so.
Have you been to Egypt recently, and if so, what are your observations?
Jim
Photo credit: Michael Gwyther-Jones