Some things fix themselves
Here are three reasons why I am happy at this moment: three Bad Things have miraculously fixed themselves. And old age has fixed another Bad Thing: my own impatience.
- I can read and write. I got a blimmin’ migraine aura—I thought I was done with those for good, but no. A very bright light caused it. (It’s never serious with me so please, no sympathy.)
My point is that for half an hour I could only comprehend written text one word at a time. And now, after a little lie down, watch me go! - My stove top for about 6 months would not ignite. I researched, something was blocked and needed clearing. Not surprising, after 20 years. But dealing with gas is not something I would tackle myself. And matches do the trick nicely.
Then suddenly the other day a gas ring ignited itself as I turned the knob. No more need for matches. The problem has fixed itself! (For now.) - Almost from day one, my brand new, M1 MacBook Air had been crashing. Several times a day, even. The dreaded pink screen of death would strike for no discernible reason. But the Mac has slowly settled down to one crash per day … one per week … one per fortnight …
I presume that upgrades to the Mac operating system and also to various apps have been working away in the background. Reconciling their differences. Making peace. And now I am almost confident that this problem too has fixed itself.
No expert help was required for any of these problems. No technician. No doctor. No pills. No $85 call-out fee. No course in Slow Thinking. Only patience was required. And tolerance and calm. Which all come much more easily in my 80s.
Maybe that means other Bad Things have been quietly fixing themselves in the background. These ones are features of my personality. Or should I say were? Impetuousness, impatience, rushing in, moving too fast. Yes.
No more sprinting. Endurance is (maybe) now my thing. And just waiting has now paid off, three times in six months.
Some things fix themselves, given time. In some situations the beauty of a Slow Response is obvious. In old age, it might just come naturally.
This is wonderful! Problems fixing themself!
Gives me faith that there is an order to the world- one with which I am not always in harmony, one that does not give me quick results, and for which patience seems to be the only way forward. Why spend what time I do have on insisting that things go my way (and right now!). Also unplugging and then restarting my computer as a last resort works much of the time. Mysteries…
As my granddaughter told me when she was five, Sometimes things go the way you want, and sometimes they don’t.
Sometimes it happens to bodies too. My daughter (the one living in your part of the world) was recently hospitalised for chronic pain which turned out to be a tumour twisting itself, along with the ovary it was attached to. Fortunately after a few days of morphine, it untwisted itself without recourse to surgery (which is to be avoided in case it stirs up a currently dormant – and currently uncurable – condition).
i should point out though that this miracle happened under 24-hour medical supervision. I’m not i any way suggesting that symptoms should be ignored.
That was a stupendous self-fixing event. Huge relief! Self fixing is not the norm, just a happy occasional event with things of minor importance.
I sometimes wonder if we shouldn’t have a couple of well guarded buttons under our armpits, one to reset, the other to switch off! Too radical?
We do, but in our heads not our armpits. Just a matter of finding them…
Very deep, and very true Rachel.
Oh I am deep. Guess you noticed that by now.
A lovely depth too!
Oh yeah, I’m all about endurance. I think people give up (on all sorts of things) and throw stuff out or quit working to achieve something just before it was about to be fixable or show improvement or display progress.
I see this in myself, especially in earlier years. (I would get bored as soon as I made a breakthrough.) but sometimes a plan is so right that I have to keep going. Slowly at first… Slow thinking makes sense. Not all the time of course!
I find that even within the “fixing on own” I need to tweak things from my own thought of how to go forward – me having a great deal of difficulty of late with the medical profession, who recently having to see a different GP completely contradicted the other one. Now back to how I see the “fixing happening” … tiny baby steps but believe I’m getting there (back to, possibly not, but okay) There doesn’t appear to be a thought in my head to rush!
Good, good, very good. Which meets the glorious bar of Good Enough!
A splendid advocacy for the necessary adaptations of age
Well said, Derrick.
This is just what I needed to read today. I’m happy your problems fixed themselves and that you’ve put into words something I’ve been contemplating. That is, how wonderful it is to be less impatient courtesy of aging.
Ally, you’re a role model for many good qualities: is this to be yet another?