Recognizing the different types of tools in our lives.

Any time somebody picks up a hammer I am pretty sure there is little question about what will be done with it, assuming there are nails nearby that need to be smashed down.  It is, therefore, a trivially easy thing to discern the value of that hammer when it fills that particular purpose so clearly and efficiently.  The hammer was designed and built almost exclusively for that purpose(though the ones with a claw on the back can also be seen doing somewhat of the opposite kind of work on occasion.)  And, now matter what I put my mind to doing, no matter how much training and conditioning I undertake, no matter the intensity of my desire or the resources at my disposal... I can never become a hammer.  I can never smash nails into things as effectively as a $3 hammer will.  But... should that stop me from trying?(the answer is yes, actually. That should stop you from trying to smash nails like a hammer. Don't even try to be a hammer. You just can't do it.)  You should, however, realize that even a hammer has multiple sorts of useful things it can do.

This leads me to my second point in this line of thinking tonight.  The point that, even though a hammer is a tool we can easily recognize and gain the benefit from in every day life,(assuming we need a hammer that often... which must make us all carpenters, I guess?) there are many different tools readily available for our use.  And I'm not sure why I was so compelled to go about writing on this topic in such a roundabout way, but experiences themselves can be just such a tool in and of itself.  I don't mean that experiences can be used to smash nails into things.  That's just silly.  But we are often posed with challenges through which the examination of said experiences might be our best tools to effectively navigate those challenges.  Personal review of an experience can be used to pick the lock of a metaphorical door which has been closed in our faces.  I feel inclined to point out that experiences used as a tool don't necessarily have to be our own.  In fact, in nearly all cases, one generally comes out better off if they are able to utilize the experiences of others to their own advantage, thus avoiding potential problems which could then require a greater array of tools than before just to recover from the damage.  Would this not speak to the greater value of using experiential tools?

Leading me to my final point tonight.  I am a tool.  Yes, in the sense that I am often an idiot who makes stupid mistakes, and in the sense that others might learn from my mistakes so they can avoid the same damage that I have incurred.  Perhaps this is one of my bigger motivating factors for laying so much of myself out there.  I love people and I don't want to see them hurt like I have.  I'm not sure I have thought of this as one of my motivating factors before(though, to be honest, I may have already written about this exact topic and just don't remember) but it does feel fairly accurate to me.  I don't mind being a tool... as long as somebody is using me for good purposes.  If I'm gonna be a tool I gotta be put to use!  Nobody wants to be an unused tool.

I suppose this also ties in with my enjoyment of teaching... which I love to do.  I am very empathetically delighted to see the progress of others and I can think of few things(outside of parenthood-essentially the role of a non-stop teacher) which allow me greater perspective on another person's progress in life.

There are several different ways I wanted to take this topic but I am definitely waxing on WAY too late for my physical benefit.  I hope the tangents I did take provide a meaningful route of ideas nonetheless.  They were obviously good for this tool's enjoyment!