Seven solutions for every problem? Of course, not always exactly seven, but always several!
Behind the assertion that there can always be seven solutions is the invitation to a creative lifestyle.
Creativity can be understood as breaking habits. This is not about producing absurd solutions, not about straining after effect, not about solutions for the sake of solutions or simply about other solutions (although change can be good some times) but about better, truer and more beautiful solutions.
Livinglifeasart is based upon the openness to leave usual ways.
When we, for example, think about a present we could bring to an invitation, why do we normally only look for one or two solutions? Why not for “seven”? Also with regard to usual occurrences – the way I take to work, how I go there, the way a church service has to take place, how I spend my evenings – there exists a large number of possible solutions for them.
“Always seven solutions” also means that we are convinced that solutions exist even when we cannot imagine any solution at all. Maybe the way of solving the problem starts at first only with a little step that will be followed by another step etc.
Like this, Livinglifeasart breathes this vital substance of hope.
How do people normally act when facing a problem? They look for a solution, maybe for a second one, a better one.
Regarding this, look at the following exercise:
Divide this square into four equal, identical parts.
Look for different solutions.
One, two, maybe even three solutions will immediately catch your eye. You are probably happy and satisfied now.
Some might continue looking for other solutions.
Believe me, the number of solutions is infinite without me having to show this now (e.g. dividing the square by a cross and rotating the cross around the centre of the square).
Aren’t we too often satisfied too early?
A key for livinglifeasart is to live by the conviction that there are always “seven” solutions. We have to look for them first, collect them without evaluating and only sort them afterwards.
What can we gain by this?
Better, truer, more beautiful ways of living!
A small example: Last summer I was travelling with friends of mine, a couple. When filling up the car at a service area, my friend accidently splashed some fuel on his leg. Should he go again to the rest room and pay 50 cent? That was the most obvious solution.
But there are seven solutions, we told ourselves: To rub the leg with grass, to buy something to drink and clean the leg with it, to take some water from the bucket for cleaning the wipers… Finally, his wife took a hand lotion from her bag, applied it to the leg and a few minutes later the whole accident was forgotten.
The leg didn’t become more beautiful by this (despite the scent of the lotion) but we were happy that life holds some surprises.
Well, legs with fuel are not completely unimportant but admittedly, there are more important things in life!
We should have understood the big solution, the salvation for us as a whole to be able to be open for seven solutions also in important vital matters.
The big solution redeems us so that we can turn to the important matters without pressure of salvation.
Salvation gives encouragement for the vital matters.
Salvation qualifies the importance of life in the light of transitoriness and eternal life with God.
Salvation assists us, helps us to live responsibly with the good, the true and the beautiful.
Salvation is given to us by the faith in Jesus’ act of salvation based upon which we want to live trustfully for the Kingdom of God.
This vocation is a redeemed being as a child of God, this vocation is a loving relation with the triune God and his children. It wants to give us the certainty that our life has already been done, that the decisive already happened for us. We do not have to accomplish this and can therefore be relaxed and creative, thus open for the seven solutions, turn to the long- and short-term decisions.
There are, for example, for sure seven solutions (at least not only one or two) for the first career choice in life, seven for the realization of the job training or studies (at least not only one or two), and seven for the first employer (at least not only one or two) and seven for the collaboration in the team (at least not only one or two), seven how today could take place (at least not only one or two)…
Livinglifeasart Exercise:
- Start off in a small way: For sure, you have a habit what you drink at dinner and how you serve the drink. Which other possible, nice ways of serving can you imagine? Try one of them out.
- Think of seven solutions how you could tell your colleague at work today that you like working with him/her. (If you don’t like working with him/her think of seven solutions how you could change this). Implement one or two of them.
"One is either part of the problem or part of the solution“ (Michael Gorbatschow, 1998)
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