The world battles on all around
The armour-suited figure in the photo is a vast 3m tall weather vane I befriended on Saturday afternoon in an almost deserted Belgian museum. The soldier stands astride a slain, or at least very weary and cow-towed, devil.
The weather vane stood for 600 years on top of the town hall in Brussels. A new version is now atop the tower and this one has retired indoors into a museum on the other side of the square.
The figure is curious and impressive. The slight androgyny, the massive scale, the fact it survived unscathed for 600 years on top of a tower whilst battles rampaged below, lightning struck from on high and all the time it was buffeted by the winds of time.
It didn’t resist the wind, it simply turned. It caught the lightning and conducted it away. It took no part in any of the ultimately pointless battles beneath.
It was erected as a totem that good can win against evil, but tells another story of survival, even if that story is ultimately one of lonely isolation.
Professionally we don’t operate alone. Few of us can resist being caught up in cross-winds and bolts of power and the fights of others. But, we can all adopt a more pragmatic approach, learn how to channel damaging strikes and engage with battles on your terms.
And yet still, there’s an awful lot to be said for standing back and observing.