truth

Day 864

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This is a well-known story within medical circles. A few years ago, a patient was in the operating theatre to have his diseased kidney taken out. Everyone believed it to be the left kidney, except a medical student who said in a hesitant, soft and muffled voice that he thought it was the right kidney. No one paid him any attention and went right ahead to take the left kidney out. It turned out, that was the wrong kidney. The only person who was correct was the medical student. The person who suffered the damage was the patient.

Large organisations are hierarchical by nature. Decisions taken by those on top are rarely questioned by juniors. But true leadership means, the ability to challenge the status quo. The culture of an organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.

During their selection process, Google particularly look out for ‘courage’ in candidates. They prefer to hire people who ask the right questions and are not afraid to be open if they disagree with what is being said, irrespective of who says it.

The only way to improve is to be open. That is how we learn.

When was the last time I kept quiet when in fact I had something to say? When was the last time I didn’t have the patience to listen? What are the dynamics at my work place? Who pays the price for my silence or my inability to listen? Will I have the courage to speak-up the next time? Will I have the courage to listen?

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” – Seneca

Ref: Just a Routine Operation (A short film about the importance of Human factors , one of them being assertiveness) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzlvgtPIof4

Day 856

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Every investigation into an avoidable death is a learning opportunity for Trusts, clinicians, families, wards, patients, management, boards and the community. The lessons learnt can be passed on to other organisations and future generations. But unfortunately, often investigations are done in order to not find any deficiencies. They are defensive in nature rather than exploratory. They are reductive and analytical (Root cause Analysis) rather than holistic and empathic. Both approaches bring value to an investigation but often the greater good that can come out of them is overlooked.

200 avoidable deaths take place within the NHS every week. Each of them holds valuable lessons for the future but they are buried. Hence the same mistakes happen over and over again, costing more and more lives. In some organisations serious near-misses are recorded as ‘no-harm caused’.

We need collective intelligence, not individual genius. We need responsibility and accountability, personal and professional, shared and individual.

In 2015, a report was leaked to the BBC from Southern Trust that looks after 45,000 people. They had 1454 unexpected deaths over a 4 year period, 2011-2015. Of those, just 195 (13%) were treated by the trust as serious incidents requiring investigation. Deaths of adults with mental health issues were most likely to be investigated (30%). For those with learning disability the figure was 1%, and among over-65s with mental health problems it was just 0.3%.

“To err is human, to cover-up is unforgivable, to fail to learn is inexcusable.”
– Sir Liam Donaldson.

Ref: NHS Failure to probe deaths: Shocking: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35061716

Day 853

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Today’s date has been in my diary for a few weeks and I have been eagerly looking forward to this day. One of my favourite musicians is performing in town and we have tickets! His name is A R Rahman, the winner of multiple national and international music awards and millions of hearts.

Despite a cold and a cough each, we both travelled for more than an hour to get to the other end of town. It was eerily quiet. I don’t trust myself with any information any more, especially not my memory. The street lights were too dim, like me, to read the date on the tickets. Under the phone torch we found the date to be 24/03/2017.

Well, we still have something exciting to look forward to.

This is one of his Sufi songs:

Kun Faya Kun
(Be. And it is.)

Advance your blessed feet. Appear!
Making the boundaries disappear,
May you fill this void, the abode of your Beloved.
Its empty without you, come fill this void.

O Dyer. We dye in Your colour.

Be, and it is!
When there was nothing, no where,
He was there.

He is the one who is in me,
He is the one in you,
Dear Lord is the one that is a Mystery. All around.
The Sublime, the Magnificent. Reveals the truth.

Colour my heart and my mind with Your colour, the Colour Divine!
In exchange, take all that is mine.

The morning showers its blessings when I adore You,
It purifies this dark night soul of mine.
My spirit’s nourishment comes from Your sanctuary,
O Master, O Beloved…

Be, and it is!
When there was nothing, no where,
He was there.
His Messenger, the Generous Prophet reveals the truth
The blessings and peace of God be upon him.
I pray to you, please free me from the bonds of myself,
Grant me visitation to my true countenance,
Free me from myself.

Carrying vanities of my mind,
burdens of my misdeeds,
Where do I go?
I have no idea!

You live within me, and now,
where have You brought me?

I live in You,
I follow only You,
I am but Your shadow.

You created me,
I did not fit in the world,
But You embraced me,
Only You are the Truth.
Only You are Real.

Be, and it is!

 

Day 848

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Three centuries ago, Newton thought that reality had 3 basic components: time, particles and space. This model didn’t explain everything. Soon other forces that govern movement of particles came along like electromagnetism. Photons, gravitons and gluons emerged yet the essential ingredients of reality remain a mystery.

To explain gravity, Einstein merged space and time into a composite, space-time. Michael Faraday added the concept of a classical field that carries forces through empty space. Quantum Theory showed that all mass and energy are really excitations of underlying quantum fields. Quantum fields and space-time are incompatible, so perhaps there is a more basic component hidden beneath.

In the late 1990s, String Theory was proposed. I don’t understand it fully but basically it says that elementary particles emerge from the vibrations of one-dimensional strings. Therefore, an electron is not really a point, but a tiny loop of string. If it oscillates one way, we see an electron. If it oscillates in another way, then we call it a photon, a quark, or a …

Julian Barbour, a British physicist believes that space and time, united by Einstein must be uncoupled. The only way to define space is to consider it as the geometric relationship between observable particles. He argues that the universe is a set of possible configurations of the 3D geometry of space. He believes that these configurations or ‘snapshots’ exist in a space of possibilities. Time is not real but merely something we perceive – an illusion that comes about because the universe is constantly changing from one snapshot to another.

Spiritual masters have been teaching the concept of everything being an illusion for thousands of years. Physics seems to be catching up.

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”
– Albert Einstein

Ref:

Day 827

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Trading Stories

I have a story
about us.
You may like it.

Is it true?
Certainly not.
But it is a
most satisfying
lie.

Hmm..
The truth?
Truth has no words,
You know that.
Wonder why people
claim to speak it.

You have the truth.
or half of it.
My half
is a twinkle in the eye
shrugging off
the words
with no meaning
chuckling softly
at this frantic search
for a cloak that fits.

Let the truth be.
Let us trade stories
Till these new clothes
Fit better.

  • By Jo Aggarwal.