On Solutions – A Review

Problems don’t solve themselves… well, except when they do. “Give it time” is something constantly thrown at me as I constantly throw myself at something that I deem in need of fixing. But there’s a lot of things I can’t fix, especially out here.

So, I do my part. I pick up litter and throw it away, when convenient; I give half-correct travel advise to tourists; and I do my best to answer questions as I think I hear them. Like I said, I do my part.

Okay, okay, I kid. I always try my best, whatever that means in the moment. I think nearly everyone does. For me though, that best often includes having an obsessive need to not let things settle.

When something is off, I tend to name it, and then I ask what can “we” do to fix it. That “we” often becomes just me, because I’m usually the only one who really sees the “problem” as a problem. That’s my fault. If it only happened sometimes, I wouldn’t take the blame, but it happens more often than not, so I’m safe in this self-doubt, don’t you worry.

To me? Problems have always had a solution. There is always a correct way to go about “this,” but lately? Well. There are too many moving parts sometimes. Other times, the problem hasn’t been mine to solve.

Take for instance, a student angry at themselves for failing a test. They’re crying, their head is down on the desk, and they’re not listening when you ask them to step out for a breath of fresh air. So, what do you do? You let them sulk unless it becomes disruptive. If it does, call someone who gets paid more. Easy peasy.

Now, the astute among you might have noticed that I’ve framed “do nothing, unless it gets worse” as an actual solution. Two months ago, I would’ve refused this as an answer. But sometimes it turns out “do nothing” is the right thing to do.

The kid needs to go through the process of feeling. They need to walk through the stages of anger or sadness on their own. You just have to make sure they do it correctly, but only from a safe distance.

What’s that old saying about leading a horse to water?

I do my best. And a lot of my best has lately been figuring out how to fit my increasingly tight standards into the even narrower streets of Brooklyn.

Sure. I’m a bit puzzle obsessed. And yeah, I don’t like letting things settle. But that’s never been a problem before. In fact, all it’s ever been is a strength. And 90% of strength is knowing how to leverage something in your favor.

I do tend to try to fix everything. I’ve got two hands and a publicly available Google calendar, send me an invite and let’s work something out. If that means we have to set a timer and wait to see if the pot boils over, then let’s pull up two chairs.

I might prefer something a bit more lively, but… If you need time, all you ever had to do was ask.

Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend.