My song today is ‘Try Everything’. This song recorded by Colombian singer Shakira for the 2016 Walt Disney Animation Studios film ‘Zootopia’ The song was written by Sia, Tor Hermansen, and Mikkell Eriksen.
The song debuted and peaked at Number 63 on the ‘Billboard Hot 100’ chart as well as Number 26 on the Digital Songs chart with the help of 33,000 digital downloads and three million US streams after the release of its official music video. The song was certified 2 times platinum in the United States by RIAA for sales exceeding 2,000,000 units, it also received a silver certification in the United Kingdom by BPI For sales of over 200,000 units.
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I have known many adventurous people who said they were prepared to try anything once. While they were the type that drew no boundaries to the extent of their exploration, I always stopped short of going the full hog whenever it came to what I tested, ingested, digested, invested, contested, protested, suggested, or requested.
Just in case you think that I have swallowed a set of syllables textbooks, let me explain. I have no intention of ever putting anything in my mouth, my stomach, or my bloodstream which I have not tasted before, or do not believe will benefit me, or am uncertain that I will like the taste of; nor will I suggest that you do otherwise. I have no intention of protesting about the presence of something I cannot remove by any means or about the absence of anything that is demonstrably harmful to me to be reunited with. I am ‘an ethical investor’ and could never be the type of person who would be prepared to profit from the poverty, powerlessness, and misery of another human being.
When I worked at the Huddersfield Probation Office, I was one of a number of the younger, rebellious officers who would often get into stand up disputes with one of their seniors regarding some management line that was being pushed, which I did not think was in the benefit of the Probation Service’s consumer/ client. During the staff discussions, which constantly became heated, it did not take too long to notice that one of the few office colleagues who rarely objected to any new change which senior management was trying to impose, was the longest-serving officer in the building and had probably forgotten more than the remainder of her colleagues had ever learned collectively.
Her name was Irene, and she and her closest colleague, Joyce (sadly both now deceased) would invariably stay clear of the office disputes by lending their ear but rarely offering any advice for or against the proposition under discussion. On those few occasions when Irene and Joyce joined the ranks on the front line of battle alongside their colleagues by clearly sharing their view, the rest of us knew that we were home and dry regarding the eventual outcome. Whenever the three Senior Probation Officers saw that Irene and Joyce stood firmly alongside their colleagues in opposition to the new management proposals, they inwardly knew that the argument was not destined to go their way and they would either significantly modify their proposals or withdraw them entirely. Our cautious colleagues were like some good-luck charm or rabbit’s foot to the rest of the troops.
I once asked Irene why she did or did not take a greater part in all the office disputes about this or that, and her reply was short and simple. She replied, “ My father taught me before I was seven years old, Bill, never get in messy skirmishes that have no chance of clearing the air, and if you must fight, then only fight those battles you know you can win. Spending the smallest amount of your energy or time on fighting any battle you cannot win is nothing more than a waste of time, energy, and space!”
The older and wiser I got, the more I appreciated how accurate Irene was in her decisions made whether to ‘go to war’ or ‘sit this battle out'. Essentially, my colleague Irene’s wise advice so long ago now has saved me considerable sweat, tears, energy, and loss of pride which I might otherwise have wasted. I also learned that unless and until one is able to make the clear distinction between the outcome of any battle, and the bearing its contribution has to the inevitable conclusion of the war, one runs the risk of losing sight of the ‘bigger picture’. Such oversight results in one’s efforts being confined to engaging in a lifetime of small local disputes and neighbouring skirmishes, whilst the deciders of world rule and domination continue parade their power like strutting peacocks with nothing but colourful feathers and overblown egos, to remind their workforce ‘who is boss?’
I am now 78 years old, and I marvel at the amount of valuable time and energy, my old work colleague, Irene was to save me through her valuable advice and worldly wisdom. As for Irene having been the type of person who would or would not ‘try anything’, there would only be one consideration she would need to make. Unless she knew that if she ran she would be the first across the finishing line, I doubt if she would ever attempt to leave the starting blocks in the first place.
Love and peace
Bill xxx