In recent times I have been pondering the lessons that my dad infused in me from the direct and purposeful ones to those that just seeped gently into my subconscious over time.
As a teenager our annual holidays were taken in Far North Queensland, a 3,000km journey from our home in Melbourne. On one particular trip we were literally in the middle of nowhere, 200 kms from the nearest town, when a big red kangaroo bounded from the bush and landed in the middle of the road. Seconds after the impact we came to a sudden halt with steam pouring from the radiator.
My father was resourceful, inventive and calm. There was almost nothing he couldn’t make or repair. But this was going to be a challenge. How do you repair a damaged radiator on the side of the road so far from any assistance? This seemed like an impossible task. Over the next 2hrs what he accomplished was nothing short of astonishing. With minimum tools, he removed the radiator from the car, then used a pair of pliers to painstakingly crimp the tiny damaged water tubes together. Next, he salvaged an old tube of epoxy resin glue to make the repair water tight. Once reinstalled and filled with water, we were back on the road. At the time I didn’t think too much about what I witnessed; it was just what Dad did.
I now view it differently and understand clearly what I observed that day. There’s no doubt dad was under a little pressure. His family was on the side of the road, hundreds of kilometers from help. But he remained calm and had a belief that there was no problem he couldn’t solve. In fact, I believe his success that day was in holding strong to the vision of seeing his family safe and continuing our travels north.
Most personal growth experts explain that to attain a desire or goal you must firstly hold a strong belief that your objective has already been achieved. You must be able to experience the joy and satisfaction of its realisation and not worry about the process of how it will unfold.
I now understand that is exactly what I discovered that day on the side of the road.
Thanks Dad.
