A brave (or foolhardy) van making a dash for it

a view from the original track/road suitable only for small cars

The river being overrun, Francoise in attendance.

overflow waters running around anywhere they can

On the way to Willow there is a graveyard but it is more than a graveyard. One of the most tasteful repositories for the debt that I have ever seen. It is cared for, out, order, with a lovely surrounding. What’s the code to me that maybe it is privately owned. There is a lovely feel about it and Françoise says that she would like to go and stay there for a longer period to pick up on the vibes.

Is writing a burden?

I do not regard writing as a burden but as a creative challenge to see what the human mind is capable of. I have decided to set my mind a daily task and see what transpires. So far I have been well supported as you can see from my efforts. My daily target is 1500 words but yesterdays was a record, over 3,000 words.  It was NOT  ‘a great effort’ but rather that a number of interesting things happened to me which I wanted to share.  The interest and focus is the driver, not the word count.

Today I have been reading about the World Health Organization and it’s plan to control the world through stealth, without involving governments never mind members of the public. It was written by the indefatigable Meryl Nass MD who like many others devoted her life to the pursuit of truth. She has been attacked and charged for so called prescribing discredited treatments.  It is a good example of courage here

The title is ‘ Why is everyone concerned about the W.H.O.?

The topic for today is, how are decisions made?  I am writing on the fly sitting in my office still in my dressing gown, so I would like this to be taken as a catalyst, a simulator for a conversation. Having said that, I am not sure whether the art of conversation is a dying one or whether it remains in isolated parts of society. I live in hope.

‘how and why decisions are made’.

At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, not making a decision is a decision in itself. For example ‘I should really go to the dentist to have my teeth seen to and I will get round to it sometime’. That, in case you had noticed, is a decision. The process is called ‘procrastination’

How seldom do I hear this lovely word.  If it was a cake, it would contain all sorts of nuts and raisins and would taste very good and wholesome.  To procrastinate, you have to be aware of the problem and deliberately not to do anything about it.  It comes from the word ‘pro‘  meaning forward,  and ‘crastinus‘  of tomorrow.  The word means moving or acting slowly so as to fall behind and it does imply blameworthy delay especially through laziness or apathy.

It may be that good old-fashioned fear stops us from facing things.  What if….   Just supposing …… What would people say if I …….

Any individual can decide pretty much to do as they please regarding the normal things of life such as getting up, eating, exercising, talking to people, taking an interest in something, and for these needs we make decisions for ourselves  on a day to day basis. We do not ask anyone, or feel any obligation to do so.

Let’s stop there for a moment and look at the derivation and the meaning of the word ‘decision’.  You can only decide because you have the ability to choose what should be done or which is the best of various possible actions. Someone in prison cannot make the decision to be free because of the nature of his or her confinement.

Various factors prompt us to need to make a decision. For example, ‘my life is boring and I must do something to stimulated it’ or  ‘I am hungry so I must make the decision to cook a meal or go out’. or ‘I need to finance my lifestyle so I need to make a decision about what type of work to do’. I have known it when an individual sees the example set by someone else (for example physical fitness routines) and decides to change their ways.

This does beg the question, are we aware of all the alternatives and if we are not, then surely the foundation or the safety of making a decision is flawed because it is based on incomplete information as a starting point.  As people say ‘ if only I knew then what I know now’. or ‘ I don’t want to make the wrong decision and regret it later’ Question – are we imprisoned by ignorance, or not knowing what our choices are?

Let us now suppose that there are others who depend upon us whose activities and welfare will be affected by our decision. This makes things slightly more complex because the amount of responsibility you have  is greater. Human beings have the ability to sacrifice themselves for those they love and care about so for example a breadwinner will make the decision to take another job for the sake of the family.

Who in the family should be consulted about this? The consultation would be limited only to those who are capable of understanding and appreciating (no, the meaning of the two words are not the same)  the situation so children would not be consulted, but a partner would be consulted.

What if the information available to the couple was not sufficient. This is where the advice and support of another person or group would be sought in order to give the information to make a particular decision.  The need to seek outside support is not a reflection on the intelligence or mental acuity (again these are not interchangeable words)  but the need for further and better particulars.  It is a sign of a mature and a indeed a wise person to seek advice when needed.

In my many years as a counselor and coach I found that most people left making a decision, for example whether or not to leave their partner, until very late in the day. At this  stage, considerable damage may well have happened. If it is  at an advanced stage it may well be the damage is irreversible and irreparable.

There is a whole other category of decisions which is those made in an office or work environment.  As political, legal and economic conditions change so these must be reflected in the policies of companies designed to serve them. At this time, it is very important that employees are not kept in the dark and respect for their welfare must be paramount.

When I was very much younger, I remember talking to a printer called Mr Doig. He ran a firm of printers in Newcastle and I was asking him to deliver some pamphlets to the company that I was working for. I asked him if 11 o’clock would be alright and his response – and this will sound strange in this day and age – he said his men ‘have their tea break around this time’ so could we make it 11:30.  The fact that he was  considerate for ‘just’ a small thing like a tea break made a deep impression on me.

If possible, decisions by management should be made with the prior involvement of the workers because if the workers noses gets out of joint’ as we say, then their dynamic relationship with the company, particularly that of trust, will be broken, and the likelihood that they will go the extra mile to support the firm will diminish.

John Stewart Mill, the philosopher,  said we should aim for ‘the maximum amount of devolution consistent with efficiency’, and that is another saying that has stuck in my mind ever since my sociology days at Durham University. We should credit people with the intelligence to figure out what is the best solution and therefore keep them in the loop.

On another level, relating to where we live, it is the local council that will take on the more day-to-day amenities. They are elected, and promised to represent us.  Above them we have the local MP and then the government itself. I recall Andrew Bridgen MP talking to an empty house of commons chamber about the damage caused by certain medical interventions. To clear the chamber before he spoke was undoubtedly a political move controlled from behind the scenes and this where the problems get worse.

In Politics we have the rather dystopian situation where the interests of the MP or the government have been influenced by bribery or blackmail in many cases  and they are no longer sensitive  or open to our wishes.  This is when we can see the morphing from a democracy to a plutocracy.  This term means ‘a country ruled by a class of  its wealthiest people’.

We see this in the United Kingdom using the striking example  of our Mayor of London, and our Prime Minister, both independently wealthy people who have connections with world organizations to whom they are almost betrothed. Are they ‘in touch’ with the common or garden elector. It does not seem so. You normally ask about ULEZ or 15 minute cities before legislating but no, the common man is not intelligent enough to make decisions so they must be made for them.

This implies that  the decisions they make do not make sense in common sense terms because they are being influenced by their political masters and by previously signed agreements that remove the independence of a particular country in favor of an unelected  organization.   Any  organization with the term ‘world’ included, for example World Economic Federation, World Health Organization, World Bank, World Trade Organization  not to mention the United Nations are full of un elected people.

The idea is predicated on the assumption that individual governments are incompetent or incapable of running their own affairs and making decisions that affect its own people. This right has to be given up to a global organization in the interests of health, wealth, efficiency and security.  The problem here is that  individuals who are attracted to these organizations are in many cases de-tuned from what is going on at street level. In less polite terms ‘sociopaths’.

We are seeing the manifestation of this in many ways and I would refer you again to the article I spoke about at the beginning of this piece. It is long and involved but it just shows the shenanigans  and the duplicity  which accompanies getting hold of the control of a particular power base.

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So you have had some thoughts from me about a conversation starter that could happen in any pub or over the dinner table, that is if people are not too busy on their mobile phones.

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Finally, if there is ever a ‘finally’, here is a New Zealand who has made the decision to turn degraded land into a massive forest. What a wonderful testimony from this hirsute man.