Can You “Figure it Out”?
Hmmm, if you don’t knowwhat bus to take, how will you ever get where you need to go?
I had the privilege ofattending the Willow Creek GlobalLeadership Summit a few times earlier in my life. It is a leadership eventcreated by Willow Creek Community Church in the suburbs of Chicago that hasgrown into an internationally recognized event.
In those days, WillowCreek Church founder Bill Hybels always gave the opening address at the Summit.I remember one address in particular where Bill talked about a lesson hisfather taught him early in life that has paid many dividends.
Bill was in high schoolat the time. A ski trip was organized that he wanted to join. His father agreedto pay the cost which included a bus trip to the ski resort. On the day he leftfor the trip, his father drove him to the bus station and parked in front ofit. The conversation from there went something like this:
Bill’sFather: Okay, away yougo
Bill: What bus do I take?
Bill’sFather: Figure itout.
Bill: What do I do when the bus arrives?How do I get to the resort?
Bill’sFather: Figure itout.
Bill: What do I do when it’s time toleave?
Bill’sFather: Figure itout.
Bill figured out whatbus to take, how to get to the resort and how to find his way home. Lookingback on the experience, he realized that it was his father’s way of teachinghim to be self-sufficient and think for himself – a skill which has served himwell over the years.
That story resonatedwith me then and still does today. In my generation, we were encouraged by ourparents and taught in our days of higher education to develop this ability. Itwas a life skill we needed in our arsenal and one that I was naturally inclinedto develop. That skill has defined my life in many ways over the years.
The teaching of thatskill has fallen by the wayside over the years. Young people today mature morequickly and do things in their teens that I did not dare to tackle until wellinto my twenties. Despite that advanced maturity, many do not seem to have beenequipped with the Figure It Outskill, although there are some who have the aptitude and develop it on theirown.
It may have something todo with the predominance of technology in our lives now. Machines and computershave taken over many tasks. They free us from those responsibilities but at thesame time stunt the development of our figureit out ability. Post-secondary education also bears some of theresponsibility for defaulting on their responsibility to teach this skill.
There is a ripple effectinvolved. The absence of the Figure it outskill can make one more inclined to take all things at face value and not sniffout the deceits that all too often lay just below the surface. If you can’t figure it out, you are less able to think for yourself and less able toseparate fact from fraud and duplicity.
And finally, if you areinhibited in thinking for yourself,you cannot access the power of metaphor which can be defined as the ability tounearth hidden connections between problems, objects or situations. Yes, youknew I was going to circle back here eventually!
We need to bring backthe nurturing of the figure it outability. If you cannot figure out what bus to take, you will not get where youneed to go.
~ Now Available Onlinefrom Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites ofPassage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is alsothe author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel whichwas a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’swebsite at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .
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