As you are reading this, I will be in Krakow on a short break away. This is one, of the few trips, I have booked this year and it gives me something to look forward to, every few months. The reason I have started to book more breaks away is because I realised I can save money for something material like a new car or an extension on the house, but that doesn’t add value for me, at this time of my life.
There was a slight concern about travelling, especially as the Coronavirus is spreading into Europe and other parts of the world, but, we as just as likely to catch it in Bournemouth as Krakow, so we decided to go anyway.
On our first day we jumped into a golf buggy and had a tour around 3 different regions in Krakow. It was a great decision to take a tour as we saw things that we probably would have missed if we walked around on our own. On Saturday we visited Auschwitz and Birkenau, once again we arranged a tour and got to really understand what happened and why it’s important to make sure things like that never happen again.
We also visited the salt mines in Wieliczka and, I have to say, “That was amazing”. The sheer effort and work that had gone into creating the space underground, is incomprehensible. I couldn’t imagine working that far underground, let alone mining for salt using pick axes and simple tools. We have things much easier these days with the advancement of technology and being able to work smarter – thankfully!
Both, Auschwitz and the salt mine, made me appreciate that, less than 100 years ago, things were so different. The atrocities of Auschwitz and the amazing accomplishments of the salt mines, are a world apart. I am sure there are many other examples of these across the world and, in some places, are still in existence. It’s too easy to bury our heads and ignore what we can’t see, or what we choose to ignore.
As much as this visit has made me question the impact I have made in my life so far, it has also made me realise that we have come a long way in a short time. We still have a way to go, and we are creating some future problems right now, because of our lifestyles, but we have the amazing brains of the generations yet to be born. The best is still ahead of us!
It does take people to stand up and be counted, to raise awareness of things that are not right, that are bad for the world and the environment and could threaten the future of the world. It sounds like a big job, but it has to start somewhere.
I talk about ‘marginal gains’ in organisations. Doing a small number of things that add up together and make a big difference. This trip has made me think that, although I am not going to give up work and suddenly jump on a ship to another part of the world, I can make a difference with something important. I am going to select something that I give time to, maybe offer my services to, so I can be a ‘marginal impact’ along side others.
What could you get involved with? What small effort could you make for another person that may be the final thing that sets them free, helps them succeed or saves their life?
Who thought that a trip to Krakow would provoke those thoughts for me?