A Troubadour Part 2: Pigeons
Patron, patron! We. Have. A. Problem!
Calm down Petrus, slow down, have a seat, catch your breath and drink some water.
Patron. I have just returned from a long journey, surveying the land and the land beyond and you will not believe what I have seen. In the land beyond there is misery and death. There is fighting and terrible things are happening. The land is barren of trees and, oh, such destitute all around.
Petrus, tell me something I don’t know. We have already sent three envoys last year with much gold and spears and even herbs. Are you telling me it was all for naught? Is this upheaval you talk of coming nearer and threatening our gardens?
Patron, it’s not an upheaval. I see a festering sore, present like the ebb and flow, but in magnitude like that of a great mountain throwing fire. I barely managed to save my skin and that of my old stud. Even in our own land, it’s not the same as I remember.
Petrus, what are you speaking of, such news. Our land is great. Perhaps let us build walls around it.
Patron, it gets worse. There are now scores of women on the square, and they are carrying vessels, full of pigeon excrement. They are complaining that the waters are further and further, and we are unable to replenish our coal from the trees from the far lands anymore.
Hm, Petrus. What do you make of it? Pigeons?
Your honor, there are pigeons everywhere. The youth have taken to them. Like a vast web they have spun. The pigeons are reaching to the far corners of our land. It’s a veritable plague. And the excrement, it’s intolerable.
Ok Petrus, I’ve heard enough. Send me a blacksmith. We’ll hammer this out. We’ll forge some kind of solution. This requires some resolute measures. On your way!
But Patron, if I may, your honor. Are you certain that we need the blacksmith now at this time? With more war and weapons, the misery will surely hasten itself to our gardens?
Petrus, bring me Darius the blacksmith or it will cost you your head!
A week later, Darius arrives on foot to the court with his handcart and tools.
Darius, I require your service. Has Petrus told you his tales about the far lands?
Your honor, master, I am a witness of these stories. Please tell me how I can serve you well.
Darius, we shall skill our men and equip them with swords and shields and wage battle to keep the pests at bay. You will make the sharpest swords with cutting edge. I rely on you, or it will cost your head.
Master, I seek your patience, please take it in stride. I know of these stories from a man from the northern lands. He was but a troubadour, though with much great wisdom and I saw him juggle three sharp swords with his eyes closed. Such great skill, master, and he had wisdom of all the lands and of all there is to know. Your honor, I beg you, bring in the troubadour and let him sing you his songs.
Brutus! Take Darius outside. Get me another blacksmith. Bring me back his head, and some of that wine from the new land.
Yesterday, Nov 10, 2014 was the Bond conference in London. I would give my left pinky to go back in time and be there (no I wouldn’t! I’ll just read it on Twitter). Following the conversations there, it’s clear that we are in a lot of trouble and things have to change. Soon. Old proven methods of international development are outdated, or at least up for review. Most importantly, we need millennials, the ‘kids’ that bring new ideas and fresh ways of thinking.
Perhaps one of the richest images I saw was that of this Venn diagram. I think this image is worth at least a million words. To move forward, the cooperation and knowledge sharing that is currently lacking between NGOs, businesses and governments need to be a priority. (By the way, Venn diagrams are a fun and powerful creative tool. I plan to dedicate a future blog post on this since I love venning).
There were many other intertwining themes at this conference, too much to do justice to in one blog post. I urgently need to forge a strategy that gets me into this mess. I want to have a go at it. I’m going to skill this.
Hm. Where was I? I was writing my CV and now all I have is another blog post.
Read Part 3
