We have been watching a bull in a china shop. For a Head of State of a major world ‘stability’ player to behave so irresponsibly is terrifying. Many of us have been scared – and we still are. We might now stop our navel-gazing fear for a moment and consider how to treat this wounded bull we see stomping around. As a farmer I used to deal with hurt animals. Distressing both for the pain they are in and also because nothing is more irrational than a half-demented, dying creature. In that state even a bee can become lethal. Treat with care.
It does us no credit if we let loose our hatred when an animal is hurt. We do not have to love it but compassion is a mark of adulthood and now, if ever, is a time for all to be adults. ‘Kill it’ may appeal to some, but that is weak. Humans should kill fellow humans only in exceptional circumstances. Revenge is not one of them. We must tether this creature.
What caused the hurt in the first place? We seldom know for sure. Physical and mental inherited make up, parenting, early experiences and education all contribute to who we are. Growing up is learning to cope with it. It means that life is a balance. In the presence of berserk creatures, sanity, calm and reason are the coping tools, not emotional rage and sensitive self. As Kipling said “They prosper who burn in the morning the letters they wrote overnight”.
Another pointless behaviour we resort to is deflecting blame. Easy to react to tragedy with “Not my fault” – even when nobody has suggested it is. It is understandable that those who stand to lose jobs, position, money, security or possessions will leap to their own defence. More realistic to ask “What could I have done to help avoid this?” Our usual answer is “Nothing”. We are wrong. How we live our life is the example others follow and there is no greater teacher.
How often do we hear the cry “They are all doing it” as an attempt to let us off the hook of personal responsibility? Everything we do is someone’s guide or excuse. Denying that power is self-denigrating. It belittles who we are. Power is poorly understood. Robert Bruce learnt about it from a spider in his prison cell. The creature was trying to climb a painted wall. It could get no foothold. Every time it reached half way it slipped down again. When it succeeded Bruce wrote “Whether doing, suffering or forbearing, you may do miracles by persevering”.
We cannot be ‘heavyweight bulls’ because we are mostly ‘feathers’. However, we have an ability to make a major contribution to the stability of the world because we can create balance. If you have not yet seen how, please click on this. You will never regret doing so.
Getting a team to fly out of the earth’s orbit, round the moon and back demands a lot of coordination of thought, effort, will and guts. What we see is the spectacle of achievement. What we are watching is a discipline of balancing thought, mind and determination. Not just by a group of people but by each individual personally. If humans can do that we can also marshall ourselves to cope with a damaged and berserk creature as he falls out of his orbit.
The prize for doing so won’t be the creature’s.
It will be yours and mine.
Good morning
John Bittleston
Please tell me if you have some thoughts on this. It’s how I and my colleagues learn at [email protected].
05 April 2026
