The Engineer, Pastor & Psychologist

Star-Eagle Independent Newspaper – OCT 2012

So these three guys are up hunting in the mountains and they get lost.  It is getting cold and dark.  They see a cabin with the lights on down in the valley.  They hike down to see if they can get warm, spend the night, and get back to their truck in the morning.

They knock on the door and it opens but nobody seems to be home.  The cabin resident is not far away as there is a pot of soup on the stove, a radio on, and as they look up to the peak of the cathedral ceiling they see a wood stove suspended by about 50 wires.  It has a fire going in it!

Now these three guys are an Engineer, a Pastor, and a Psychologist.  They start talking and then get into a full on debate why someone would install a wood stove like this.  The Engineer argues that it is simple thermodynamics and a great way to create heat circulation.  The pastor says the cabin dweller is a deep man of God and is symbolically lifting the fire in his heart to the heavens.  The Psychologist says this guy has real Mommy and birthing issues and needs to be under the warmth.

The argument continues until the resident comes in, un-noticed, and introduces himself to the three.  He finds their presence amusing, invites them for dinner, invites them to spend the night and they talk and tell hunting stories.

Late in the night one of the three tells about how they had been arguing about why his woodstove is hanging from the beams by wires.  Cabin man asks them to describe why each of them thinks it is the way it is.  And they do.  They lay out their elaborate theories in great detail.  And he tells them they are all wrong.

He tells them that often in life; we tend to make a lot more out of things than what they really are.  We try to overcomplicate things.  We look past the simple because things are not supposed to be that way.  And so he tells them; “ When I was building this cabin up here I was getting cold.  I had lots of wire, but I ran out of stove pipe.”

Hmmm.  How often as we think about remodeling our homes, or making a modification to them, or just making a change to them, how often do we over complicate the situation or process by thinking about it too much.

I am often asked “Will this change effect the resale value of my house?”  I respond with “Are you planning on selling soon?”  The answer is most often no.  “What about the next owners of this house?”  Who gives a Rat’s rear end!  This is your house.  You live here.  You don’t even know the next people.  And if you did, you probably wouldn’t like them anyway!

I am a firm believer that you should do what you want to your home.  You should do what you need and want to do to make the place you live as enjoyable and pleasing as you can.  It is your oasis.  Your hideout.  Your retreat. Your happy place.

Within reason, the law, and planning and zoning and CC&R’s of course, the little things make a difference.  You want a blue wall in your bedroom, go for it.  You want smiley face cabinet pulls on your kitchen doors, do it.  You want…  You get my point.

Enjoy your home for the now, not the later.  And make people wonder what you were thinking.  Screwing with their minds is so much fun!

One Response to “The Engineer, Pastor & Psychologist”

1. Dean says:

   December 1, 2012 at 10:49 am

   good advise you make things simple