Tag: failure

DRIFT

Posted on by Olaf

Some facts of life we are taught and some we discover! Here’s one that you may not have been told but is nonetheless a reality to be observed – DRIFT.  People can seem firmly rooted in relationships, in jobs, in morals, in safety, in belief and faith until the powerful tides of life come along and drift begins.  Like a boat that is moored with apparently securely knotted ropes, the knots can be found wanting, gradually loosening until the boat floats away from its moorings. It may be more sudden as when lightning hits a riverside tree dispatching a branch to the whims of the sea. Who knows which tree this piece of driftwood came from and its story before it was found battered and washed up on a remote beach in New Zealand?

  •  ‘To reach a port we must sail, sometimes with the wind, and sometimes against it. But we must not drift or lie at anchor' – Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr

Escapism

Posted on by Olaf

Fantasy has never been more popular.  Every time a person buys a lottery ticket, there is a fantasy behind it – houses, cars, holidays, retirement and lifestyle. Have you ever pondered what you would do if you had hit the jackpot? In October 2018, an anonymous winner in South Carolina scooped $1537 million. In 2019, sales of lotteries in America alone reached $91.32 billion, up from $85.59 billion in 2018.   This represents a 1 in 300,000 chance of winning which is higher than the EuroMillions Lottery ratio of 1 in 45 million!  Gambling does not make long term winners – studies show those winning will often lose what they have won within 10 years as well as gaining many worries and a possible addiction along the way. This cruise ship looks idyllic but eventually all passengers return to face the realities in their home port!

  • ‘Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality’ – Freddie Mercury

Stress

Posted on by Olaf

One word which can easily be associated with the modern age is stress. If you go back to pre-industrial times, it was not a term in use.  It was coined by Hans Selye in 1936, who defined it as ‘the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change’. Today, it refers to ‘a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances’.  It is also used by engineers to refer to ‘pressure or tension exerted on a material object’ and is useful to work out breaking points such as those used in construction.  London’s Tower Bridge opened in 1894 and is a complex feat of engineering, allowing for stresses that constantly change, responding to different loads and weather patterns.   It works as a combined drawbridge (bascule) and suspension bridge relying on ingenious hydraulics to lift each side weighing over 1000 tons in five minutes.   Ten workmen died during its construction.  Many people die today through health problems associated with stress.