Terry Robson EDITOR-IN-CHIEFFrom the editor-in-chief
T
hey say that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. “They” usually mean
that genetics dictate that children don’t differ too greatly from their
parents. It might well be true that apples don’t generally fall too far from
the parent tree but it’s also true that sometimes there can be a sizeable
wind blowing when the fruit drops.
As a case in point, I give you my younger daughter and me. We share many traits,
I’m happy to say, but when it comes to handiwork we are light years apart. The
genetic winds were blowing a gale on the day I passed to her my DNA regarding
handcrafts. Even my most ardent admirers (and yes, they do exist) will tell you that
giving me a hammer is like handing a tennis racquet to a fish: it’s just not going to
work. I like to think I have other skills but being “handy” is not one of them, much
to the financial joy of several handymen in my neighbourhood.
My daughter, on the other hand (pun intended), loves being crafty. Give her a craft
activity, some Lego or a jigsaw and pretty soon you’ll have a masterpiece of some
description. Recently, given that two-dimensional jigsaws are just bread and butter
for her, we’ve stepped things up a little and she’s started doing 3D jigsaws. Most
recently, she completed a 3D Big Ben but, having done everything else, found she
couldn’t get the crowning steeple to fit on the top above the clockface (although,
in the interests of full disclosure, a few days later she did actually achieve this).
In the moment of not being able to make it work, though, she sat back and calmly
reflected, “I think Big Ben looks good like that. It doesn’t need a top bit. It’s fine.”
Augustus Pugin, the architect of the clock tower (yes pedants, I realise that Big
Ben is the name of the biggest bell in the clock tower), might disagree with that point
of view but the architectural merit of the Westminster clock tower is not the issue
here. What is relevant to us all is how we react when things don’t go to plan.
Life doesn’t always follow the blueprint, so what do you do in those moments of
disappointment? You can spit your dummy and throw a tanty or you can look at things
anew. That relationship you thought you wanted — maybe it wasn’t right for you after
all. That job you expected to get — perhaps it was going to destroy the rest of your life.
Undeniably, there will be times when plans do need to be followed, but I’m
willing to bet that this is the case far less of the time than we actually end up
making a fuss about. Who says the Westminster clock tower needs that top bit?
Rethinking things isn’t weakness, isn’t giving in; it’s strength, it’s courage, it’s
being brave enough to change your view. Try accepting some of the topless clock
towers in your life. It’s about time.8 | wellbeing.com.au
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