Monday, September 10, 2018
Measure Twice, Cut Once
By: Donovan Baldwin
There's an old carpenter's adage, "Measure twice, cut once." In other words, don't just lay the tape out, assume that what you saw, or thought you saw (no pun intended - well, maybe a little), was correct.
It's worth checking what you're about to do before doing it so that you don't have to regret afterwards.
You can't add back that extra inch or centimeter you accidentally cut off because you got the first measurement wrong.
You cannot always reclaim a relationship, your personal pride or self-esteem, or restore someone else's, once you've whacked it off at the wrong point... or for the wrong reason.
Oh, sure, in the real world, we often have to do things "on the fly", or, simply, being the messy, imperfect humans that we sometimes are, go with our first reaction, and, to steal a thought, regret at leisure. Still, there are times when taking a second look, doing a reassessment of the situation, and, our intended response, IS possible.
Might be worth the effort.
You might discover that your first reaction is sometimes a little "off". After all, "heat" CAN make things change size, or look hazy, temporarily.
Might want to re-measure when everything's cooled down. Or, just apologize. That sometimes DOES put that extra inch or centimeter back on.
Magic.
There's an old carpenter's adage, "Measure twice, cut once." In other words, don't just lay the tape out, assume that what you saw, or thought you saw (no pun intended - well, maybe a little), was correct.
It's worth checking what you're about to do before doing it so that you don't have to regret afterwards.
You can't add back that extra inch or centimeter you accidentally cut off because you got the first measurement wrong.
You cannot always reclaim a relationship, your personal pride or self-esteem, or restore someone else's, once you've whacked it off at the wrong point... or for the wrong reason.
Oh, sure, in the real world, we often have to do things "on the fly", or, simply, being the messy, imperfect humans that we sometimes are, go with our first reaction, and, to steal a thought, regret at leisure. Still, there are times when taking a second look, doing a reassessment of the situation, and, our intended response, IS possible.
Might be worth the effort.
You might discover that your first reaction is sometimes a little "off". After all, "heat" CAN make things change size, or look hazy, temporarily.
Might want to re-measure when everything's cooled down. Or, just apologize. That sometimes DOES put that extra inch or centimeter back on.
Magic.
Labels: adage, anger, carpenter, donovan baldwin, life lesson, measure, measure twice cut once, relationships
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Putting My Musings In Context
By Donovan Baldwin
I try to put my musings in context, sometimes, at least.
I tell a story I've heard, write about something from my own past, talk about what I was doing when the thought came to me, etc.
Then I rattle on, and, somewhere near the end, I try to get YOU to understand WHAT I was really thinking about, and WHY.
Two days ago, I got some coffee at a convenience store, recently built on a previously vacant lot, and a memory popped into my head; a song from 1970, I believe, "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell.
There's a couple of lines in it that seemed to fit my thoughts:
"Don't it always seem to go, That you don't know what you've got til it's gone."
I had just almost lost something very precious to me, without even really knowing or understanding what I had, or, what I was about to lose.
Don't get me wrong, I really knew and appreciated what I had, only I had never actually believed that I "had" it...if that makes sense.
Well, that song popped into my head, because I had almost lost something very valuable, and, as I thought more deeply about it, "overthink" it, I guess (which CAN be good), I understood the truth of the thought. We DON'T always appreciate people, relationships, yes, even things, until they are gone, or about to go.
Anybody who's ever held a yard sale, knows that. How much more important is someone you care about than some old lamp you've had for years?
People, relationships, are even more important. Don't wait until they are gone to realize what it is you have right now.
I tell a story I've heard, write about something from my own past, talk about what I was doing when the thought came to me, etc.
Then I rattle on, and, somewhere near the end, I try to get YOU to understand WHAT I was really thinking about, and WHY.
Two days ago, I got some coffee at a convenience store, recently built on a previously vacant lot, and a memory popped into my head; a song from 1970, I believe, "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell.
There's a couple of lines in it that seemed to fit my thoughts:
"Don't it always seem to go, That you don't know what you've got til it's gone."
I had just almost lost something very precious to me, without even really knowing or understanding what I had, or, what I was about to lose.
Don't get me wrong, I really knew and appreciated what I had, only I had never actually believed that I "had" it...if that makes sense.
Well, that song popped into my head, because I had almost lost something very valuable, and, as I thought more deeply about it, "overthink" it, I guess (which CAN be good), I understood the truth of the thought. We DON'T always appreciate people, relationships, yes, even things, until they are gone, or about to go.
Anybody who's ever held a yard sale, knows that. How much more important is someone you care about than some old lamp you've had for years?
People, relationships, are even more important. Don't wait until they are gone to realize what it is you have right now.
Labels: Big Yellow Taxi, donovan baldwin, Joni Mitchell, relationships, writing
