All play a part

Chores

There is a spring in Claudia’s step when going off to top up the water. For this chore is a pain, but also an opportunity to spend a brief time alone, revel in the change in the seasons and take in the beauty of the environment. Racheal has an ability to switch off when doing the dull tasks and focus the mind on other things. Ben sings and jives when at work and defers the burden of cajoling Dave to get out of the hammock and into action. Dave needs endless prodding else will be found lying down for most of the day. Dave read this book and took one thing from it. That was the wisdom of getting hold of another book, 1001 excuses for not doing things, and saw the usefulness of it when embarking on this new life on the island. Dave hasn’t even got the imagination to think up new excuses on the spot but did get the underlying message from it though. That is, try pointing out those that appear even lazier than you. In addition, it was easy to grasp the power of the following tactic: push your argument to the max with as much emotive sentimental force as possible. However, Dave didn’t bank upon the fact that it is much easier to hide in a large arena than a place where everyone is so much more accountable.

Things evolve. Times change. Problems emerge. Things that were less of an issue in the past become ever more troublesome as each year passes. As a result, policy makers adapt the rules. We hope that new policies enacted make it fairer for the majority. However, with any new policy there will be a proportion of losers – often a minuscule number. Complaints come in and it is usually the plight of the few that will be mentioned. People will make compelling arguments against the new policies, but it doesn’t wash with those that have to bear the weight of the funding and the work required to pay for those wanting more. We might not want to dismiss their plight, but the extent of the hardship is usually exaggerated. It is futile to point out the benefits to the society as a whole. Anything promoting the wider view tends to fall on deaf ears. Dave can spend as much energy as he likes trying to convince the others that special treatment is deserved, like a gambler who has already put so much in, and too entrenched to pull out. Other people carry on in the same vein, believing that the next coin will get the desired result but ends up bust. They then leave thinking the whole world is against them. Never to their dying day are they prepared to even hint at the possibility that they are wrong. Claudia listens and grins, Rachael grimaces, Ben raises an eyebrow, and they all wander off to carry on with what they were doing.

When cars finally arrive on the island you can bet that all of them believe their driving is impeccable. They too will shout out ‘idiot’ rather than consider why someone is dithering and holding us up a little. Perhaps they are looking for a place, checking the directions? Ben always drives perfectly, or so he thinks. It is always the other person that is at fault. Another area of autistic behaviour, only seeing things from our point of view.

Ben begins to argue compellingly that all the improvements they make bring about a reduction in the anxiety felt about having to do chores. Things become easier through the investment made in time saving measures. An hour spent today improving something can save three minutes a day thereafter. That time investment gets recouped in a few short weeks and pays dividends in the months ahead. Ben is quick to promote the fact that they also have more fall backs when things go awry. More planning saves a lot and potentially extends their very existence on the island. Building for greater convenience and greater comforts is attractive. We can get carried away though and spend our days doing nothing but work. Time whizzes by. You age and ache more. We can lose sight of possibilities, of real meaning, because of a fixation on making never ending alterations to our landscape.

Dave at least, albeit unconsciously, saw that it is sometimes worth being able to put up with a little imperfection in the manor. Good enough, rather than everything just so. When you persistently worrying about every little detail, worry about what could be done to make things better, you have less time to appreciate time itself, time doing things that enrich your existence. Dave will play a part for sure but won’t become encumbered by guilt for not always playing to the tune of the rest of the group.

All four discover in short order that things will never pan out quite as well as they had hoped. Their dreams are not matched by reality. Their grand vision of what life on the island was meant to be like falls by the wayside. Things are good but not as glorious as they would like. Nevertheless, they have created a system that provides for themselves and gives them an opportunity to bring children up under their own steam. That alone is highly satisfying. It doesn’t have to be the best island in the world right now and may never become so, but they can’t be mocked for their self-sufficiency. It is quite an achievement to manage without reliance on others on the outside.