Perfection – V. Two Famous Expressions
Date Posted: March 13th, 2008
Take the Time
We are often urged by well-intentioned people to do things
that are not within our field of competence, or that we are
simply not inclined to do. If you recognize the following
situation, then we have something in common.
Your deck has seen better days. You either need to make
major repairs and paint it, or wreck it and build a new one. You
prefer the second option and call upon a reliable handyman who
has helped you out in the past. Your brother-in-law, Dan, hears
about that and hits the roof. He is handy, and his late father
was a contractor. Dan used to help his dad, on small tasks, as
early as three!
He incorporated his knowledge “with mother’s milk.” He
cannot imagine that you’ll spend your money to hire an outside
person. “I’ll show you what to do,” he says. “Take the time and
save your money.”
What’s wrong with this scenario? Many things:
First of all, Dan is assuming that he can pass his knowledge to
you through osmosis. Second, if you’re willing to invest the
time you can do anything. Third, you may not have the time; or
perhaps you have spare time but don’t want to spend it building a
deck. There are no doubt more arguments that can be advanced to
support having a handyman do the work. Dan is well-intentioned,
but you don’t want other people deciding how you will use your
money and your time.
There is an Egyptian proverb that says: “Humiliate your
money and don’t humiliate yourself.” We can facetiously say in
this case that you have elected to humiliate your money!
But It’s So Simple
Some of the faults of the people around you can easily be
overcome, or so it appears at first view. Consider the following
situation.
Miranda’s sister, Susan, is coming for a week to visit her.
Susan is a fusspot. Miranda will make sure that the house is
clean and neat. Neatness is not a problem for the members of the
household except for Cindy, Miranda’s youngest daughter. Her
room, at all times, looks like a battlefield. Miranda asks Cindy
to straighten her room, and keep it neat for a week. Cindy,
miracle of miracles, manages to do that. If Susan was staying
for a month, can Cindy manage to keep a neat room for that
period? No, one cannot imagine that Cindy can go against her
grain for a whole month.
Messiness is one of those flaws that appears easy to
vanquish. “But it’s so simple to keep a neat room,” you might
say. Well, it isn’t. You’re either neat or you’re not. It’s a
shortcoming like any other and should be accorded the same
respect.
Now to a personal example. I hate playing. As a child, I
believe, I played until I was 12. After that, I devoted all my
free time to my only passion: reading.
I rarely played with my own children. Yes, on occasion I
sat on the floor and participated in their games. I tossed the
odd frisby or ball. I love to swim and often took them to the
pool and played with them. However, I’ll be the first to tell
you that it wasn’t enough. You might say: “But it’s so simple
to play with your children; pretend you enjoy it.” Well, don’t
be deceived, it’s not simple at all. You have to do, day in and
day out, for many years, something that goes against your nature.
It’s downright impossible.
