Ladders and their obstacles

This morning was exhausted by checking out the DIY store for a set of ladders. I looked at the store's web site and found what I wanted.  Then headed down towards the store, walked around it, found the ladders section, but the pair I'd seen online were not in the store.  You can set your mind to doing something and find there is an obstacle in the way.  This obstacle then stops you in your track then another decision has to be made.  In searching for quotes about obstacles I came across this one:

"Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."

~ John Wooden

This is a great little side stepping method.  There is a term called functional fixedness.  When you look at an object in a certain way and can only see a certain use for it.  When it becomes difficult to extrapolate a different us or different way of using the object.  This is the being stuck or functional fixedness.  Wooden's quote here says to me.  OK, you can't climb up a ladder today and do the thing you needed to do, however I could of charged up the drill, purchased the appropriate items for another project and done some research for it in order to do the project.  But I let myself get stuck in one frame of mind and one idea.  There is always something you can do, if you can't do what you wanted to do.  Simple as that.

This afternoon  I had a bicycle ride, for need of exercise and to release my thoughts. I didn't know what to do with myself.  You could say I was at a loose end.  Indeed now I think about it there were other things I could of done, but I didn't, I rode my bike, stopped at a bench near the Thames and sat there.  It has been a beautiful hot day, with little in the way of humidity.  I sat watching the odd boat and tried to combat the distractions of my thoughts.  Thoughts which have a way of creeping up on you and not really helping out.  I noticed a large orange buoy in the water.  On one side of it there appeared to be water resistance as an waves indicated.  Taking into account the direction of the waves it became a simple solution, the Thames was in the process of having a tide and the water was coming in.  I tried to sit up straight as I realised I was slumping.  The warmth of the sun was relaxing.  I felt a need to chat and a pang for Sparkles.  It happens once in a while.  And although the place and time was relaxing and nice, I watched those other distracting thoughts and wrestled control, gently otherwise I'd of surely looked like a wild crazy man.  Wrestling yourself can be a noticeable thing in public places.  Mind wrestling is much less observable.

So Wooden's quote in some other respects is about going with the flow.  If a buoy happens to be in the way the water will push around it and just carry on doing what it has to do.  Oh to be like water.