(Original Post - March 2014)
I was asked a little while ago why I gave up writing the ‘Short Thoughts’ blog. I think it’s been about ten months since my last post, so it’s understandable that someone might think I wasn’t writing here anymore.
Though I’ve been tempted at times, I decided that I would never force a blog post idea. In each and every post that I’ve written so far, there was a definitive moment of epiphany, for lack of a better word. I never searched for what to write about, because to me, that would go against the whole purpose of this blog. I’ve always waited for the ‘short thought’ to hit me, like an eye-opening upper cut to the jaw (or a sharp kick to the chin from a four year old who’d made his way into our bed at some ridiculously early hour and insisted on sleeping ‘upside down’ because it’s more comfortable). A few days ago, I had such a moment.
It happened at the water fountain.
The water fountain at my school is located just outside my office. It’s interesting to watch kids stroll up, turn the ancient metal knob, and watch the pathetic trickle of water that leaks out. From my experience, many if not most kids who go to the fountain don’t actually go because they’re thirsty. In this age of omnipresent water bottles of every shape, size and design, most kids (again, in my opinion) head to the water fountain to get a little break from the classroom. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a chance to stretch the legs, walk past the office to see who’s in trouble, and possibly smell the cinnamon buns that are baking in the cafeteria.
But then, there are those who are really, genuinely thirsty.
Take, for example, the little boy whom a colleague overheard saying, “The water doesn’t go up to drinking height; it just comes out at a sucking height. ” Really, you have to be pretty damn thirsty to suck on an elementary school water fountain faucet (I apologize to the germaphobes who are currently retching after reading this).
Or, as another example, there’s the little boy who inspired this post. He was standing at the fountain outside my office as I rounded the corner. It’s a fountain that, like most, is known for a lacklustre flow. I’ve seen kids (usually the older ones) at the fountain, muttering about how pathetic it is, how they can’t get a real drink, or can’t fill their water bottles because “that fountain is useless”.
This little boy was standing there, holding a water bottle that was half the length of his arm. There was no way in the world that that bottle was going to tilt enough for the water to squirt into the bottle. I waited, fully expecting that he’d join that perpetual chorus of cascading complaints, but he didn’t. He stopped when he realized his efforts were futile, looked at his water bottle for moment, and then took off the cap. He pinched the top, making sure the hole of the cap was sufficiently sealed, and then did something I would never have thought of.
He turned the cap upside down.
That being done, he turned the water back on. The water was still ridiculously low, but it was enough that he could place the cap underneath the flow, and slowly fill it with water. He then dumped the water from the cap into the bottle, and repeated the process. Over. And over. And over.
The best part… he whistled while he did this.
I couldn’t help but go over and commend the little guy. I leaned on my doorway, arms folded, smiling as I watched him work. “That’s a pretty great idea,” I told him. He looked up over his glasses to see who was talking to him, and quickly looked back at the cap, making sure he had it placed correctly. Brow furrowed, he was a picture of concentration. When he finally spoke, it wasn’t a thank you for the compliment, or a comment about the crappy fountain. He slowly poured another cap full of water into his bottle. “I’m pretty thirsty…” he said.
He finished filling his bottle, and headed back to class, still whistling. I’m not sure, but I think the song may have been that Tegan and Sara tune, ‘Everything is Awesome.’
While I can’t be certain, I really hope it was.
The Short Thought – How often do we mumble, grumble and complain about the inadequacy of the myriad things in our life that are not perfect? How often do we stand around the proverbial water cooler in our offices/ staff rooms/lives and complain, rather than putting our energy toward finding a solution, as this little guy did. When it really comes down to it, most problematic situations can be resolved, or at least improved, with a little thought and effort. However, it’s much easier to walk away and grumble about how things suck, the world has done me wrong, I’ve got it so bad… and on and on.
As if to further cement this idea, about an hour later I read a tweet from a fellow counsellor. It read “Go twenty four hours without complaining. Not even once. Then watch how your life starts changing.” He added, “I dare ya #simplicity.”
Truth is, it really is that simple. Sometimes, we’re too eager to see the water bottle as half empty.
Sometimes, it’s ourselves we need to turn upside down.
Just a thought – While I was thinking about the little guy at the fountain, and thinking about writing a blog post about what I’d seen, I considered taking a bit of a different perspective and writing a blog called “A Little Ingenuity”. Kids, when faced with frustrating situations, will often look for creative ways to find a solution. Adults, when faced with frustrating situations, will often look for anyone who’s willing to listen to their monologue of negativity.
“Think left and think right and think low and think high, Oh the thinks you can think up if you only try…” Dr. Seuss
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