An Early Christmas Gift

       “Is there an instruction manual or anything?” asked Cyndi. She was talking to the installer at Liquid Audio, in Midland, who had just put a new audio system (Alpine iLX0207) in my 2010 Toyota Tacoma pickup, bringing me a few steps further up and in to the future. It was my early Christmas present from Cyndi and Byron and Katie.

      The man paused and then asked, “How old is your husband?” I suppose he wanted to know if I was capable of understanding the 21st Century.

      “He’s 63 and he’s an engineer. He likes to read manuals, and he likes to figure things out.”

      And so, my new adventure began.

      Right away, the new audio system wanted me to connect my phone so I could make “hands-free,” calls, which I suppose is an asset and something I should look forward to. But, at least for now, I prefer my old way, which is to wait until later to answer calls and check text messages. It isn’t so much about safety as it is I simply don’t want to be accessible every moment.

      My phone relationship lies somewhere between Cyndi, who runs two businesses and cares for her mother so she is on the phone all the time, and her friend Patti, who regularly leaves her phone at home and wants to live everyday as if she is relaxing on the beach.

      But Cyndi was right about me and owner’s manuals. I tend to use them, read them, along with assembly instructions and all that, and I have very little patience for someone who complains about how hard it is to put a piece of furniture together, for example, but won’t bother to look at the pictures (as in, IKEA).

      In my closet man-cave I have a plastic tub filled with owner’s manuals, ranging from handheld digital recorders and pocket multi-tools to washer/dryers and garage door openers. I dig through them regularly hoping to solve a problem or two.

      Unfortunately, the owner’s manual for my new audio system was, like too many sets of instructions, written by people who already knew the product well and needed little help. In other words, the owner’s manual, at least for now, is marginally worthless. It assumes I already know and understand before it bothers to tell me anything.

      However, much of life is like that.

      I found this quote in an article from one of my favorite writers who has been a huge influence on me, Austin Kleon. He quoted Karen Armstrong, who said, “The rules of a board game sound obscure and dull until you start to play, and then everything falls into place. There are some things that can be learned only by constant, dedicated practice.”

      Spiritual life is like that, too. Armstrong went on to say, “Religion is a practical discipline in which we learn new capacities of mind and heart ... If you don’t do religion, you don’t get it.”

      Jesus said, “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” (John 7:17 NIV)

      Most often, we must engage, do something, before we understand.

      And so, what I’ve learned from my many manual-reading years is this: I often have to fool around with a new product – such as my audio system – before the owner’s manual makes sense. I have to start doing before I can start learning.

      And who knows. I may even learn to enjoy a new phone hands-free life. Old dogs like me should be learning new tricks every day.

“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32