Who’s Yoh Daddy ... Vulnerability

C’qui s’passe mes enfants?

Did you guys ever hear me talk about the difference between a hazard and a disaster?

Hurricane Juan in 2003 was our true storm of the century. This is called a hazard (specifically, a natural hazard).

The satellite image shows it approaching Nova Scotia. 

The two pictures showing destroyed boats and downed trees were part of the disaster that resulted when Juan ripped across the province. 

You both remember the mess of Halifax. And Faith, it was fun taking you with me that night when I did CBC National News with Peter Mansbridge and talk about all the damage and answer the question about why people weren't prepared in spite of the excellent warnings (I said something along the lines of, "well, you can't legislate common sense.")

Everyone kept calling Juan a disaster. It wasn’t … it was a hazard. But it turned into a disaster for one reason only. Vulnerability!

You guys know my good career buddy Jim Abraham. Jim often spoke about the great Ice Storm in 1998 which created power outages for close to 25% of Canadians. It was a massive storm … likely the most impactful storm in Canadian history. He liked to tell people how that storm, had it happened in 1850, would have been little more than a mild curiosity. The difference? Vulnerability. Between 1850 and 1998 we Canadians had built our lives to be dependent on hyrdro-electric power, not to mention transportation that depended on carefully cleared roads (and runways). The storm … the hazard … would have been the same in 1850 as it was in 1998. The result, however, was the vulnerability that we had built into our lives … vulnerability that turned the hazard into a disaster in 1998.

What are the vulnerabilities that exist in your life? How about the ones that you have allowed to creep in? Are you guys slowly loading a gun that will someday be triggered by an innocuous event?

Until 2002, my life was one big vulnerability. I didn’t see it until it was too late. It just sort of creeped up on me (I know, I should have said crept). Before that, surely you remember how I was more than 100 lbs overweight … and that I took myself way too seriously … and that I didn’t prioritize family the way I needed to … and that I expended an inordinate amount of energy managing the image of me in the minds of everyone around me … and that I was strict with you, at times beyond reason … and that I was time-obsessed and lived most of my life at a frenetic pace … and that I battled insomnia … and … well, the list goes on.

I lived a life of inattention. I created my own vulnerability by simply not paying attention to little, but important things … things that accumulated … things that loaded the gun.

I discovered that vulnerability loads a gun that eventually ends up in the hands of someone else, or something else, and at a moment that you don’t expect …. BANG! 

I also discovered that this particular gun is always aimed at yourself.

Vulnerability prevents effectiveness from being developed; it keeps freedom from being attained or enjoyed. I believe the two of you are super, but you’re now not, nor will you ever be Superman or Superwoman … you’ll never be physically invulnerable. Yet, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and socially speaking, you can get very close by just paying attention and taking some simple steps.

The two of you have proven to yourselves that you know how to change the physical-you. You took steps and did some things … things that made you better, physically. You made yourself less vulnerable, and in the process, you increased your freedom. And if you think about those steps that you took I bet you’ll discover that they were intricately bound together by purpose, identity and empowerment, which were, in turn, powered by choice and process. 

I hope this makes you go, “hmmmmm!”

I love you guys.

Dad

Sneak peak: Next week you’ll see what I figured out about the vulnerability thing.