A child throwing his toys out of the pram is too kind an analogy for the display of spoilt behaviour created by a 41-day shutdown of the US Government. The rapprochement that has led to its reinstatement is an example, albeit a somewhat tardy one, of the need to cooperate if you want to compete. And cooperation had better come before competition if you wish to avoid a $1Bn lawsuit being slapped on you.
The world’s rules are simple. To make life better for yourself, make life better for others. Our political systems – democratic, autocratic and commonsensible – focus on who is best able to achieve that, but are designed to reflect our own personal interest. There’s some inevitability about this, though you might think that the sophisticated collective brain we possess could have taken the 1965 warning of looming climate catastrophe a little more seriously.
The rules for competition are that you agree the rules, and how they will be monitored and policed, before you start. Fly-by-night changes mean there are no rules. We tried to leave that behind when we first stood upright. With, it appears, only modest success. We should not, however, take the meanderings of a madman as an admission of failure. Nor should the sheep-like conformity of some around him make us lose hope.
In most spheres of life the rules are clear and observed. Examples by intelligent people have taught us that this works best. The trick is to balance terms and tensions. Balance is a feat of logic not yet included in most curricula. It would make a trendy subject, combined with reason, to usher in the coming AE (Artificial Era).
If you want to see how skilful balance is, watch the eight minute Sanddorn Balance act. You will never regret doing so. Balance is the nearest I come to a religious faith. Very delicate, it is the foundation on which all life survives. Species disappear when they lose their balance with their fellow creatures and with nature. Society loses its enchantment if balance goes. We lose our minds when they become unbalanced.
It seems a long way from hammering out the terms of a peace treaty to supporting a feather on a collection of bamboo sticks but they are one and the same thing. They demand observation, touch, perseverance, sensitivity and SBD. That is what the balancing act shows us. To achieve it we need cooperation. To motivate ourselves we need competition.
To have a fulfilled life we must have a balanced life. And the SBD, of course.
Don’t know what it means?
Sheer Bloody Determination.
Good morning
John Bittleston
May your life be balanced and may you help others to be balanced, too.
We always love to hear from you at [email protected].
14 November 2025
