I’m married to a man who likes to mull. He comes from a long line of thinkers and one of his father’s cherished possessions was this stained-glass gift, “Ho, Hum Tinker” (pictured above) from his work buddies.
My father-in-law, Joe, was a well-regarded problem solver, working for a natural gas company and he had a reputation for being the ‘fixer’. Given that the commodity in question was dangerous and highly combustible, Joe was often consulted before action was taken – especially if there was ever, ever, ever a question involving safety. In that business, the quickest solution might also be the most disastrous.
Living up to the joking and ribbing, he embraced his reputation as a thoughtful ‘tinker’…more likely to sit a-spell and consider options, examine the situation from all sides before DOING anything. (Of course, he also knew how to think fast in a crisis…but in a non-life-threatening scenario…he was proudly, unabashedly Mr. Tinker/Thinker.)
As I think about him now, I see those traits in the hubster. I can be a public nuisance, running verbal circles around the hubs, but that doesn’t mean he’ll hop on my crazy train. He’s still gonna ponder, think, consider before responding.
I’ve learned to ask single questions only, rather than offer my typical spew of several in one barrage…then wondering which question he’s answering when a response surfaces. 😉 It’s our funny little dance and we’ve been doing it long enough that I should know better. Slow it down. One question, problem, issue at a time as opposed to my typical smorgasbord. Vicki IS often far too verbal.
I’ve learned the glory of deliberation from the hubster and his father, the original Ho, Hum, Tinker/Thinker…which makes me wonder…
When did thinking, cognition, consideration become valued only if observable? Feeling like we favor motion above all else, speed seems to have eclipsed thought in more instances than I’d care to recount.
Is it social media? Our intensely digital age? Is it the internet and warp speed movement of thoughts, words, ideas? Wannabe DIY folks can cue up a slew of YouTube videos to figure out how to screw in a wonky light bulb, repair some wiring. We lean into solutions from outside, versus slowing down to consider the wisdom within.
I’m as guilty as the next person because I get stressed out when I need to fix something. I know my emotions get in the way of clarity of thought. When I slow down, look at the parts and pieces, the evidence, the situation before me, I can often articulate and diagnose a problem…if not repair it. Eventually. That’s often half the battle. Instead, I tend to spring into action…thinking that my perspiration with purpose will somehow drive a solution into the light. Quite the contrary, I’ve learned. The Universe is watching me and when I move too quickly, without enough consideration, I miss essential details, vexing my effort before I’ve begun.
Considering solutions…examining options…doesn’t need to slow ‘the fix’ to a full stop. I think that’s my point here…deliberation and consideration before action? I could use more of that, and I’ll try…but in the meantime, this post gave me a reason to share a treasured family keepsake, Joe’s “Ho Hum Tinker” artwork, gifted to him by his best buddies and hung proudly over his workbench for thirty years.
Joe would be the last person, humble as he was, to draw a comparison between himself and Einstein, but he lived his life in accordance with an adage from the great thinker, just the same:
“It’s not that I am so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
Albert Einstein
I should be so lucky. Cheers to you — from me and from favorite “Tinker/Thinkers” – the hubster and his papa.
Vicki 😊
Victoria Ponders 
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