Our Quest for Convenience

Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.

Donald Rumsfeld

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/convenience.html#OUtPkxyhmtGcE3LK.99

Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.

Donald Rumsfeld

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/convenience.html#OUtPkxyhmtGcE3L

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments 

of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and convenience"  

 

- Martin Luther King

 

My years living in Texas taught me many times over that my American friends live for convenience.  I must confess that it can be very appealing, until you stop to question why!  Only when we question what we do, and why, can we see that convenience might cause us to deceive ourselves.

Convenience means, "the state of being able to proceed with something without difficulty".  

This quest for convenience used to show up on a daily basis in my coaching work with people who would ask me what " 4 step Model" I use to change a person? Or, wanting to know exactly how long it would take to change the habit of a lifetime! You see where I'm going with this...?  Convenience can quickly start to become a substitute for taking personal accountability.  So what starts out as a desire to make life easier for ourselves, can rapidly lead us down a path of less convenience and irrelevance!

I've often found myself wondering where this lust for convenience comes from and if it doesn't take some of the joy out of living life, with all its ups, downs and quirks along the way?

How do we learn without taking the wrong turn now and then? How will we problem solve complexity if we only relate to simplicity?  How will we handle environmental change, diverse relationships, new technologies and inter species co-habitation, if it doesn't come with a 3 step 'How To' Guide? 

Today, for some reason, I found myself having an imaginary conversation with an imaginary non horsey person (both roles being played by me) - maybe I was feeling a little bored!!! 

The conversation went like this...

Me 1 to Me 2:       "Why do we put horses in stables?"

Me 2 to Me 1:       "So they are clean when we want to ride them?"

Me 1 to Me 2:        "Ok. So why do we put them in stables for hours - all day or all night?"

Me 2 to Me 1:        "Um,...so they are ready for us to ride them when we need to??"

(I started to sound a bit wobbly already....)

Me 1 to Me 2:         "So, in the middle of the night you may need to ride?..."

Me 2 to Me 1:         "Of course not, its just that we might need to ride early in the morning"

Me 1 to Me 2:        "And that's a problem why?"

Me 2 to Me1:         "They might be dirty and muddy if they aren't already in"

Me 1 to Me 2 :       "And that's a problem why"

Me 2 to Me 1:        "We may lack time in the morning to clean them"

Me 1 to Me 2:       "What even in the summer?"

Me 2 to Me 1:       "Ok usually not in the summer"

Me 1to Me 2:        "And what about horses that aren't being ridden (for whatever reason)?"

(Now I was stuck and the truth alighted like a Phoenix from the flames....)

Me 2 to Me 1 with exasperation:         "Look, its just easier for us!"

Its funny how hard it is to be rational about why we do some things with our horses.  In this example the horses needs are where?  Yep - nowhere! It's all about us! When people ask me for a 4 step Model to follow it becomes all about the model or process, not about them! We use convenience to mask accountability.  We use it as a deflection from thinking through things for ourselves. 

As prey animals I guess this makes some sense.  As egotistical beings it figures too. The problem is do we want to be egotistical and behave as primitively as a prey animal when we believe our selves to be so much more?  Problem is we can't have our cake and eat it so which do we want? Who are we?

When habits, conventions and norms are in place it can be hard to shake ourselves free of them.

The logical retort to the convenience argument about why we stable our horse, (for what can be unhealthy periods of time) is that if we had a mucky horse on our hands is it really the end of the world? I could make a case to say you've got more time on your hands because he/she isn't stabled all day or night, so why worry? 

Think of all the time we would save by not mucking out, sweeping our stables, emptying and filling hay nets or hay bars, water buckets, wiping stable walls down, re-sealing rubber mats.  Less time spent ordering bedding, helping unload it when it arrives and arranging the muck heap man to come and remove it once it's dirty. Not to mention time saved not sweeping up around the muck heap and poo stacking in the muck heap, to get as much in as we can, in one load.

I guess poo picking time in the field, could increase, unless the horses are in a big enough field that harrowing fixes that problem!

If our argument is we 'don't like getting our hands dirty' grooming a dusty, muddy horse - my advise is to find a new hobby/profession.  A life outdoors, with animals will always entail a fair amount of muck!

So, all things considered, a few minutes longer spent grooming - what is after all supposed to be a 'get to know my horse' experience, is hardly the biggest threat imaginable to man's quest for convenience.

Don Rumsfeld once said...

 

 "Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up"

 

...I think he may have been onto something!

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth109228.html#friGCRASPZ0bjWDs.99

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth109228.html#friGCRASPZ0bjWDs.99

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth109228.html#friGCRASPZ0bjW