Copyright © 2003 Liz Sumner
All the great philosophers must have been plumbers. The work seems to lend itself to powerful insights. Plumbers unstop the blockages and get everything flowing. They plunge the depths and get rid of all the crap. Who better to pass along pithy rules of life?
I tackled a leaky sink the other day. I'd been tolerating the drip for months. It took me so long because I didn't know how to go about starting. I'd made halfhearted attempts to ask at various hardware stores but I didn't provide enough information for them to help me so they were useless. I took this to mean that they were rotten sob's and vowed never to shop there again.
I don't know what changed to make the task suddenly seem doable and essential. It was almost like catching a wave of energy. All I know is that I woke up one morning ready to fix the leak.
So I turned to the wonderful internet-- the source of all knowledge, and searched on "How to fix a leaky faucet." I got exactly what I needed and thus my philosophical adventure began. Here's what I learned:
1. The source of the problem is generally
not where it appears to be.
Did you know that when
a faucet is leaking the leak isn't coming from the faucet
but from the handles? It makes perfect sense. It's where
the work is done. I would have started trying to apply a
solution to the symptom instead of getting to the heart of
the matter. Learn something new every day.
2. Even when at first it looks as though you
can't go any further you have to keep at something to find
resolution.
I only partially understood my internet
instructions, and it's not my style to comprehend something
fully before I start messing with it, so I started
unscrewing whatever looked unscrewable without any idea
what a packing nut, valve stem, or stem spindle was. I got
to a point without obvious moving parts and figured okay
this is it. That thing there might be a washer. Let's go
with that. First trip to the hardware store.
3. There is no shame in ignorance when
you're trying something new, and you will not die of
embarrassment when you make a mistake.
I have to
admit I was tempted to scramble for a lie when the guy
asked me what I thought this item was. It was so clear from
his expression that I'd made an error. It was not in fact a
washer but some spacer thing. He showed me examples of what
I was really looking for. I got back in my car, took deep
breaths, thought it was unlikely that they were having a
big laugh at my expense but what the hell. I was doing my
best. I presciently told myself that maybe I'd make several
more trips back and forth (25 minutes each way) before it
was done and that was fine.
4. It's not the thing itself, but what
supports it that's important.
So next I figured out
how to take out the cartridges and took them back to the
store. After a fair amount of blah blah blah that I didn't
understand or care about regarding Chinese parts and their
American equivalents he picked the seat and spring he felt
was most likely to fit. Another mind blower-- the leak has
nothing to do with this thing I just dug out, it's what it
sits on! I'd hardly even looked at what was beneath it.
Back I go to see if this replacement part is the right
thing.
5. Pay attention to what you're receiving.
You may be taking on something inadvertently.
Lo
and behold the seat and spring fit perfectly. Hooray. I'm
ready to put everything back together. I reach into my
pocket for the cartridges and find that I have accidentally
taken one from the store and left mine behind. I try to
make it fit but it's no use. One more trip and this time it
was avoidable. Arggh.
6. Life would be easier if the hardware
store was closer.
Achieving a goal may involve some
false starts and missteps. Staying on your intended path
generally takes a lot of course correction. The sooner you
know you're headed in the wrong direction the less
frustration, inconvenience and discontent in your
life.
My sink no longer leaks. I feel joy and a sense of accomplishment every time I walk in the room. I hope that lasts at least as long as the leak itself.