The Pocket Sized Problem Solver

The Pocket Sized Problem Solver

The air is scented with pine and damp earth. You’ve found the perfect spot to set up camp. After a short rest from hiking in you begin the ceremonial ritual of setting up your tent. That’s when you discover the suspension rod is broken. This is a problem best thought over with a cup of coffee.

You break out your mini stove and the valve tumbles out of the bag alone with some smaller pieces. That’s when you remember that you let your friend borrow your gear. He did seem in a hurry to drop it off and leave. Now you know why.

 

Why you lack motivation

I recently read a blog where someone was asking for advice about what they could do to make their days more fulfilling. They described themselves as in being ‘okay’ shape, not very socially active, didn’t have a job and not sure what they want to do with themselves. He said he didn’t feel very motivated to do one thing or another, but as I was reading this I could see that this person lacked motivation in the majority of their life.

I responded to their post and by the time I finished writing my reply it occurred to me that what I was telling him could be applied to anyone who finds themselves going through the motions of life with neither highs or lows. Below is my reply.

 

When words fail

The sun is sinking over a hard blue sea while you watch the play of colors and listen to the rumble of the waves. It’s one of those special experiences because there’s no one there to spoil. Just you. Yet there’s that tang of loneliness as the cold wind comes off the surf. You bundle your coat up and sink your hands into the pockets away from the chill.

Part of you wishes you could share this moment and you know that there simply aren’t words to do justice to what you’re seeing. Even more importantly, how could they see the ending of this day through your eyes?

No matter where you go, or what you do you a difference of perspective can change the dull, or ordinary into a striking visual witness of just how extraordinary your life really is. 

 

Tinker? Don’t be modest

“But man is not made for defeat,” he said. “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” Ernest Hemingway

The sun beats down so hard you can almost hear the thrum. Shielding your eyes you can see down the horizon in either way and the road is as deserted as the desert that surrounds it.

You’re standing next to your car as steam vents from the engine like a breaching whale. “That’s it, buddy,” says Carter. “The radiator hose is shot.” The trunk slams shut, “And there’s nothing in there that’s gonna help. Great. Now what?” A bead of sweat stings your eye but it doesn’t stop you from smiling. There’s 4 ounces of hardened stainless steel crafted with 184 years of tradition in your back pocket that says you’ll be at your favorite steak house tonight, right on time.

It’s the one tool so adaptive that I never walk out the front door without it. My dad gave me a Victorinox Swiss Army knife when I was 10 years old. I cut myself with it in less than five minutes and learned, right there, the difference between a toy and a tool. Did my dad know I’d cut myself? I never asked and he never told me, but I’m guessing he figured that sooner or later I would be treated to a lesson in growing up.