Solving Problems

A few years ago I wrote a blog called The Problem With Tall Wheat. The solution of this particular problem fascinated me. Paul Ehrlich wrote a book in the 60's called The Population Bomb, in it he said it was a fantasy that India could ever feed itself. Then along comes Norman Borlaug who saw a problem with tall wheat in that when it fell over, it took a great deal of room to grow. Dwarf wheat is credited with saving over a billion people from starvation because of how much less room was needed to grow the same amount of wheat. Norman Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for this discovery and a most unlikely solution was found for feeding people.

This world is filled with problems, I will not deny that. But it is also a world filled with solutions. I know that the negative emotions of anger, anxiety and worry keep us from finding the solutions. However facing a problem with the calm assurance of an answer is usually met with success. Not all problems are solved immediately, but they will be solved.

Case in point....we recently installed wood floors, they are lovely and the addition of 2 area rugs just sets them off. However the 2 area rugs pick up everything but money and babies, so they need to be vacuumed often. My vacuum didn't work on the high pile of the rug. I looked everywhere for the adjustment to raise the vacuum head, it was nowhere to be found. Rugs and floors covered in debris is a pet peeve of mine and it interrupted my peace. This morning I called the company and low and behold the adjustment setting is nowhere near the typical spot I expected it to be. It wasn't a lever, but a ring that turned which would adjust the suction of the vacuum and not the level of the machine. It wasn't a solution I expected.

Isn't that the case with many of the problems we have? A vacuum not working isn't a big deal, but the pattern for problem solving is the same whether you are vacuuming or feeding India.

1.) We have a problem
2.) We come up with a solution
3.) It doesn't work
4.) We throw our hands in the air and give up and in some cases just live with the problem (door knob stops working we giggle it rather than actually fix it, you see what I mean)
5.) Then when we can't live with it any more, we get quiet, sort it through and let the solution appear.
6.) Trust it will happen

I promise it works....