EVENTS across Australia in recent times have given us a great opportunity to gain a better perspective of what life is all about.
While life remains good for many, it is unfair for some. Innocent people suffer at the hands of ill health, natural disasters or the act of a reckless individual.
The problem for many is we grow up expecting things to be fair and when things go pear-shaped, we struggle with the challenge that has been thrust upon us.
It is the volatility in one's life that can bring us undone and in other cases it can be the making of an individual. Contrast brings with it context. Droughts bring a new appreciation of a good season, death of a family member can bring a new appreciation of a newborn, and bushfire and floods can lead to a greater enjoyment of normality.
The recent pandemic is another example of how imposed change can lead to a new appreciation of things we have taken for granted.
Parents who were thrust into home schooling now have a new appreciation for teachers. The baby boomers who grew up without television, computers and mobile phones had the inbuilt resilience from childhood to deal with the changes as if nothing happened, yet the generation Y and Z found it a struggle.
Another issue of interest for me was the recent three-part TV series called "Filthy Rich and Homeless" where five very well-off people lived the life of a homeless and destitute person for 10 days. All five struggled badly with the challenges of being paired up with a homeless person experiencing the inability to see a way forward.
The old saying is if you want to understand me try to walk a mile in my shoes. Many of us have never sought such challenges so we remain ignorant of so many things.
So what is my point? Firstly, it is so important for us to seek to understand and then be understood.
As farmers we see things from our paradigm and anything outside this can be deemed silly or wrong. A good starting point is to ensure you have the best possible paradigm and the only way to do that, is to have an open mind and a will to walk in others' shoes.
Like accepting that life is good, but can be unfair. It will help if you accept you may be wrong. For any individual wanting success, admission to yourself that you may be wrong usually leads to many questions being asked and information gathered. Most importantly, you usually gain greater respect from others, particularly your employees. Having the courage to change mostly brings about a greater sense of fulfilment and reward and generally a better tolerance of others.
I consider it essential that all farmers undertake their own on-farm research as a means of challenging their existing thinking and management. This not only makes farming more interesting, but quite often leads to a better way. After all, the human mind is like a parachute, it needs to be open to work.
- Details: kensolly@rbm.com.au
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