Problem Solving – with Roy, Polly, Felix, Lou…

Yesterday I played chess with Roy. We sometimes meet up in a café overlooking the sea. He brings his chess set; I buy a pot of tea. We have a pleasant afternoon together.

I like chess. The move of each piece is predictable; there are rules. Problems can be solved by strategies and logic. Yesterday we won one came each, so Roy and I both went home happy.

Yesterday I chatted with Polly. Polly’s a young, single mum with two teenage daughters. She’s been waiting for a date for her hysterectomy; it’s just come through. She’s had her instructions – no driving for six weeks, two months off work.

Polly’s anxious; she has problems to solve. Polly’s also optimistic; with the support of family and friends she will get through this time, to a healthy, happy future.   

French horn player Felix Klieser is playing in this year’s Proms. Born without arms he plays the instrument with his left foot. In a BBC interview he said:

‘The most important thing, when I grew up, is to learn to solve problems, I never knew what is possible for me and what is not possible. But when you have a way of thinking, ‘Ok, I can solve every problem,’ then you have many, many possibilities in your life.

And this is not a question of having a disability or not, because in the end all of us has something where he or she thinks ‘Ok, there is a limit’.’

On Sunday Lou talked about the prophet Haggai solving a problem… rebuilding Israel’s derelict, destroyed temple.

Haggai talked about their God’s instructions; God would motivate and inspire them. Haggai explained the strategy – going up the mountain, bringing down timber; it was then important to be committed to the job of building…

Musing on problem solving...

Roy’s chess… straightforward, objective, logical.

Polly’s surgery… personal, uncertainties, anxiety-inducing, optimistic.

Felix’s horn playing… achieving dreams, attempting the apparently impossible

Lou/Haggai’s temple building… God’s inspiration & involvement… just getting on with it.