No woman is an island
Guest post from Fiona McKenzie:
One of the most memorable lessons I learned in school was the concept of the food chain. Simplistically, animals eat grass and we eat those animals.
Growing up in the sixties where humans were considered all powerful, top of the heap, it was fascinating to realise how dependent we ultimately were on grass.
The interdependency of life
More recently I have been amazed by various discoveries about the interdependencies of life both globally and microscopically.
I was charmed to learn that sands from the Sahara help fertilise the Amazon Rainforest.
Dust picked up from the Bodélé Depression in Chad travels 1,600 miles across the Atlantic to fall on the Amazon. The depression is an ancient lake bed composed of ancient microorganisms loaded with phosphorous, an essential element in short supply in the rainforest.
In the microscopic world the essential role of gut microbes to human health are amazing indicators of the many worlds within worlds. The bacteria not only help synthesize some hormones and protect against dangerous microbes but they help regulate our entire immune system and can influence our mood and weight.
One thousand different essential microbes must be maintained in a balance essential to health.
As in the natural world, in economics and society there are complex interactions requiring balances which if ignored can result in unintended consequences. For example funding care for the ill (healthcare) while cutting social care for the vulnerable can increase costs overall where, for example, the vulnerable remain in hospital for lack of care in the community.
The dangers of imbalance
In any business also there are interactions to be balanced.
Cut marketing costs and sales may fall by more than the amount saved in costs. So change one variable and you need to assess how much that might alter another.
It seems that life in just about any sphere is a complex balancing operation.
Yet we all want the quick and simple answer. This is where the con men, dictators and climate change deniers often gain ascendency.
To tell a lie is quick and simple; explaining the truth is more nuanced and takes far more time.
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(Post written for our International Women’s Day Blogging Challenge By Fiona McKenzie/ Blue Note Solutions Ltd) www.bluenotesolutions.co.uk
