New Perspective Helps

Published April 1, 1982. Two things usually happen when we face problems in life. The first is that we blame others for what we experience. And then we often rely on other individuals to get us out of the predicaments.

I found myself doing those things not long ago at the university. We had just moved into our new offices in the Kimball Tower. Subsequently we were assigned new mailboxes with corresponding combinations.

The first time I went down to open my mailbox I had the combination written on a piece of paper. I followed the instructions explicitly. But he mailbox would not open.

I went to the tenth floor and asked the department secretary to check the combination. I was positive it was incorrect. She looked up the combination on her copy and assured me that the combination I had was the right one.

Down I went again to the main floor and tried to open my mailbox. But I could not do it. Others came by and opened their boxes with apparent ease, which only irritated the situation.

After eight to 10 minutes of trying the lock finally opened. And for the next week or two it took me six or seven times to open my mailbox. It was truly a frustrating experience.

Finally I became so annoyed with the problem that I asked for a new mailbox. There must be some without tricky combinations. The word came back however, that no other boxes were available. They were all assigned out.

Next I requested that my mailbox be repaired. The repairman came and reported he found nothing wrong with either the box or the combination. One day about that time I met an administrator in the elevator and asked how the university could pay all that money for a new building and still have such faulty mail boxes. I was assured that adequate thought had gone into both the choice and purchase of the mailboxes.

My frustration continued for several more weeks. I knew it had to be either the box or the combination. No thought ever crossed my mind that I could be the source of my own problem. In addition, it never occurred to me that the solution to the problem was also within me.

A few weeks later I approached the mailbox with the same hostility. I was once again ready to do the battle. This particular time, however, I had several books in my right hand. Since I am right handed I thought it would be difficult to open the box with my left hand. But what the heck, it couldn’t be much worse. And to my surprise the box opened with ease on the first try.

Normally I am not a superstitious person, but the next time I went for my mail I used my left hand again. Using the same combination as always the box easily opened. Why I could open it with my left hand but not my right one puzzled me for several days.

I finally discovered that when I used my right hand I usually approached the box casually and stood a foot or two off to the left. But when I used my left I was less sure of myself and stood immediately in front of the box. And that made the difference.

By standing directly in front of the box I gained a new and more accurate perspective of the combination dial, and I was able to line the marks up exactly. When using my right hand, however, I was so far off to one side that I got a distorted view of the dial. In so doing I was off one or two numbers each time. Gaining a new perspective of a frustrating situation was all that I needed.

My experience with my mailbox taught me a valuable lesson. I now realized even more that each of us has the capacity to solve many if not most of our own problems in life. And the power to do so usually is within the individual.

Perhaps this is what the Bible means when it states, “Physician, heal thyself” (Luke 4:23).