“Get with it, Curmudge. The holiday season is upon us.”
“I know, I know, Jaded Julie. It’s a joyous time for most folks, but for blog writers, it’s a real challenge to say something new and profound every year. Over the past three years we’ve written about political correctness, family gatherings, and macro and micro happiness and unhappiness.”
“How about something about Lean? It’s hard to relate Lean to the holidays, but you should be safe from criticism.”
“I’ve got it, Julie. W. Edwards Deming’s Eighth Point, ‘Drive out fear.’ I could preach a sermon on that, and I’m the world’s least likely person to be a member of the clergy.”
“Go to it, Curmudge. I’ll be right here wave’n my arms and shout’n ‘Amen’ or ‘Hallelujah’ periodically (oops, that’s not politically correct).”
“To begin with, the intensity of fear is a continuum. In addition, fear can be only an occasional raising of the hairs on the back of your neck to a continuous gnawing in one’s innards.”
“I believe the fear that Dr. Deming had in mind was a low-level, obsessive feeling of insecurity within an organization. But I don’t see what that has to do with holidays. Perhaps if you provided some more examples…”
“A very low-intensity fear might be a teenager concerned about acceptance by her peers. At the highest end of the scale would be a soldier on a mission in Afghanistan fearful that his next step will be on an IED that could blow him to bits. Also at the high end would be an Afghan woman’s continuous fear that she could be beaten or her nose cut off by her husband (see page 39 in the December 2010 National Geographic). Here is an example that is downscale a bit: A senior citizen concerned that her next illness will be ‘the big one’ that will be debilitating or terminal.”
“I think I have the picture, Curmudge, and it’s not a pretty one. How can these people drive out their fear, and what does it have to do with the holidays?”
“In some cases the fear will be permanent, like the Afghan woman’s having to live with her fear, mutilation, and humiliation. However, she might be able to hold out some hope for her daughter. The soldier’s fears will be temporarily allayed when he is back at the forward operating base (if it is not mortared) eating a big holiday meal in the mess tent or opening a package from home. The senior citizen’s worries about her health will be momentarily forgotten with the first hug from her grandchild. And the teenage girl’s concerns about her social life will be swept away by an invitation to a holiday party.”
“I’ve got it, Curmudge. Holidays are for driving out our fears. Occasionally the respite is permanent, most often it is temporary, and sometimes it is just not in the cards. But with the help of our friends and families during the holiday season, we’ll give it our best shot.”
“Merry Christmas, Jaded Julie.”
“Happy Holidays, Curmudge.”
Affinity’s Kaizen Curmudgeon
Note: An observation on the practice of emergency medicine in a primitive location may be accessed via this link.
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