As we approach the end of another year we often look back and look forward, for what has past and what we might expect. We look forward using Hope and Imagination and only the delusional in safety think about the future with prediction.
I am reminded of that wonderful song by George Harrison All Things Must Pass a simple declaration of reality. No zeroes, no heroes and no foes, neither the denial of death (https://safetyrisk.net/perfectionism-in-safety-and-the-denial-of-humanity/), denial of fallibility (https://safetyrisk.net/the-fallibility-factor/) nor the denial of the wickedity of living/being or the being of in-between (https://safetyrisk.net/in-praise-of-in-between-thinking-in-risk-and-safety/).
As we sit in the middle between the past and future facing the New Year we often contemplate what we value and the values we value. Such contemplation is both moral and ethical (unless you confuse the two as safety does – https://safetyrisk.net/what-does-safety-know-about-ethics/ ). We think of what is personal to us, our being and worldview (moral philosophy) and the systems and ecologies (ethics) we interact with. We work out what we don’t want to be a part of, what is no longer fulfilling and what offers hope and promise. We do so as a leap of faith. No fallible human knows the future.
As we look back in hindsight, we see the risks we took that didn’t work and the risks we took that did, never confusing hindsight bias with any silly notion of control.
As we look back, we know we never achieved zero, we never achieved all we set out to do, we never achieved every goal we set and we don’t get upset about it.
Even when organisations set goals and business plans, they never get upset about not achieving everything. We all accept that not achieving goals is part of learning. This is the power of the wonderful book by Donald N. Michael (1973) Learning to Plan and Planning to Learn. Miles River Press. Alexandria. This book is in my top 5 best books of all time and an essential for anyone in risk and safety. You can request it here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345553713_Learning_to_Plan_Planning_to_Learn
When life is fallible, messy and unpredictable we know that ‘all things must pass’ or as the Apostle Paul stated: ‘old things pass away, and the new has come!’.
The only way to really understand the mysteries of life and being is Poetically and Semiotically. It’s why we sing and are soothed by music in time of loss, tragedy and grief.
So, as you contemplate what was, what is and what might be next year in risk and safety, consider the wisdom of All Things Must Pass.
All Things Must Pass – George Harrison
Sunrise doesn’t last all morning
A cloudburst doesn’t last all day
Seems my love is up and has left you with no warning
It’s not always gonna be this grey
All things must pass
All things must pass away
Sunset doesn’t last all evening
A mind can blow those clouds away
After all this, my love is up and must be leaving
It’s not always gonna be this grey
All things must pass
All things must pass away
All things must pass
None of life’s strings can last
So, I must be on my way
And face another day
Now the darkness only stays the night time
In the morning it will fade away
Daylight is good at arriving at the right time
It’s not always gonna be this grey
All things must pass
Dr Rob Long
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Mark Taylor says
The Song ‘Safety Dance’ by Men at Work is often interpreted as a metaphor for nuclear war or a call for safe sex. However, guitarist Stefan Doroschuk said in an online interview that the song was about nonconformism and everyone’s ability to leave their friends behind and strike out on their own.
Safety is not about conformity and prevention, but accepting that accidents will happen, forgiving people for their mistakes, supporting them through difficult times, putting them at the center of any learning, allowing them to take risks to be innovative and creating better habits, so that they might not make the same mistakes again.
I’ve devised an alternative to Kipling’s ‘I Keep Six Honest Serving Men’, which I try to stick to each day to steer myself away from conformity and try and learn as much as I can from other people.
I employee six safety reps to find out what we do?
Their names What and Why and When And How and Where and Who
I send them to the job site, to ask questions to the many, or just a few
From nine till five they do not stop and simply listen to points of view
Their job is not to judge or have an opinion, but just to find out what people think
They are everywhere on site and looking for the missing link
The reason for this might appear quite strange, in a funny kind of way
But all they are doing is to keep us safe, each and every day
We all admire people who give good answers and we admire those who ask good questions even more. But the people we remember most are the ones who really listen.