Present exigencies, new solutions

03Sep08

I am not generally an impulsive person. When it comes to making a major decision –  such as changing job, buying a property, getting a new car – I can mull on the pros and cons for years, literally. But then there are some days when I just wake up and think, “What a nice day! I am going to buy a new vacuum cleaner!” – which I did on Monday – or “I’m bored with my geometric, 1980s duvet covers – I feel like getting some new bedding!” Which is what I did yesterday.
So, in a moment of elated domesticity, I drove up to the local retail park, the site of numerous homeware superstores, built from sturdy corrugated iron but looking like they might collapse in on themselves at any minute under the weight of their garish, plastic name-signs. 

Entering one such warehouse, I searched in vain for a section labelled “Bedding” or “Bedroom Accessories”, or some such obviousness. Then my eyes alighted upon a notice dangling above a display racks of bed-sheets that read, “Sleep Solutions”.
“What are those?” I wondered. Is it possible to now purchase those moments when you suddenly snap awake in the middle of the night having figured out in your alpha-state the crossword clue that has been bothering you all day? 

But no, in this instance, “sleep solutions” meant “things one might like to have in one’s bedroom”. “Curious,” I thought, before enthusiastically availing myself of not just one duvet cover but a plethora of bedding (if you can have such a thing) – pillow cases, duvets, covers, fitted sheets – the lot. You can never have enough, er, sleep solutions. 

Stopping off at Tescos on the way back I ambled around the refrigerator cabinets to see if there was something tasty I could get for a quick lunch. What did I see? A whole range of microwave dinners labelled “Meal Solutions”! Fantastic! Now you can get food that solves all your problems. 

Wasn’t it Goethe who said, “The solution of every problem is another problem”. He was right. Judging by the contents of that particular cardboard package, my “Meal Solution” led to my having to take a “Digestion Solution” before drinking a cup of camomile tea – a Restfulness Solution – to assist in sustaining a peaceful night’s sleep. All that after, of course, setting my “Waking Solution” – (alarm clock).
And if you are preparing for bed, if you wear contact lenses, you must not forget to put them in their, ahem, solution. So what would that be? A solution solution?

The marketing men must believe that life has become such a challenge for us all, that by calling everything a solution, we are coddled into thinking that our needs are all being looked after and everything is simple. 

Words are powerful things. Recently when I was taking part in a teaching project to see if local people are interested in finding out more about the Bahá’í Faith, I noticed an invisible but distinct barrier appear in front of people’s faces as soon as I uttered the phrase, “It’s a world religion.”
Now I realise where I was going wrong. The Bahá’í Faith is not a world religion – it’s a Unity Solution. 

“When the solution is simple,” said Albert Einstein, “God is answering”.  

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Tags: Bahai, Einstein, solutions