Episode #642
May 22, 2021
From time to time in my life i have felt a freedom.
On the last day of high school i realized that there were no lessons to study. There would be no alarm in the morning. No test loomed on the horizon.
i was accepted to college and would be flying to a new life after the summer, but that was a summer away.
i had no job, nor did i need to work because of scholarships to Notre Dame.
There was nothing at all for me to do.
i was free.
A sense of relief washed over me.
Since college i have worked for several companies. i enjoyed the work.
Yet, when one job was finished and another had not yet begun that same relief was there.
Having no responsibility is like moving from a house next to a freeway to a house in the country. There is a quiet that relieves the noise grinding on your consciousness.
i get the same feeling when i solve a computer problem. The unknown of a nagging malfunction is a noisy dialogue with myself.
“System or user account?”
“Probably the user account since everything else works.”
“Maybe the app?”
“Test it.”
buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz…
When the problem is solved, the buzzing stops.
The best part of a woodworking project is taking a step back when it is finished and admiring the work. This is not only a sense of accomplishment, though that is part of it. Rather, it is forward looking. It is the hope of enjoying the item for years to come. Also, at the end of the project the buzz of “what step next” is quiet.
Applied effort is like using a wrench to free a rusted situation.
The stubborn drag of reality is relieved when a jammed cog is freed.
Relief is a calm that is earned with effort.
Nice job. hope we can have lunch sometime soon
Good one! Maybe not the house in the woods but for me, I’ll be looking for the jammed cog.
A big “Amen” for that last line