Show Me the Power!

A few years ago I bought a lawn trimmer and a blower. When I was looking at all the different options, my two greatest criteria were that they needed to be lightweight and battery powered. I decided on these criteria not because I’m weak but because if we were going to do yard work as a family, I needed tools my children could handle. I would cut the grass and they would decide which of them would trim, pull weeds or do the blowing.

As they got older, my boys would cut the grass, which gave me the opportunity to use the other tools more often. The more I used them, the more frustrated I began to get with them. The trimmer wasn’t producing that nice, clean edge that I like. It seemed as if you had to blow over the same spot multiple times just to get one area cleaned. And by the time you got half of the work done, the battery would run out and it would take several hours to recharge.

Well, this was the year I decided I was going to get something more powerful. Not only something more powerful, but I also wanted something more specific. Yes I wanted a more powerful trimmer, but I also wanted an edger – something that was designed to cut that nice, sharp line I was looking for. For months I looked at several different options at several different stores – comparing prices as well as features. Do I want corded, battery powered or gas powered? A straight arm or curved arm? If I go corded, how long of a cord would I need to make it to the farthest point? If I go with battery-powered, how many more volts do I need above what I already have? If I go with gas, do I get one that has to be mixed with oil or not? Tons of options but none of them seemed right.

One day about two weeks ago my sister stopped by. At the end of the conversation, she mentioned she was going to the store. I asked her what store she was going to and when she told me I didn’t think anything about it. A few minutes later, I just felt like I should go with her. We got to the store, picked up a few things and were heading out the door. As we were walking out, I saw an edger and a trimmer out of my peripheral. Wait a minute! I have to go back to look at this!

I checked out all the details. They were gas powered, so I didn’t have to worry about running out of power prematurely. One had a straight arm and one had a curved arm. They were the most reasonably priced out of everything I had looked at so far with similar features. They were both commercial grade, so I knew they would be powerful. That was it. My decision was made. I’m getting these!

I got them home, read the manual, got them assembled, went and got a new gas can so I could mix the oil with the gas, and was excited to get back home to try them out. They were much heavier than my old equipment and they took a whole lot more muscle and effort to get them started, but they also had way more power! What would have taken me days to complete with my lightweight tools only took me minutes with my powerful ones. Not only was the quantity of time it took to get it done significantly less, but the quality of the results was significantly better. I was elated! Why hadn’t I upgraded sooner?

Sometimes we will rightfully make decisions in life based on what those around us are able to handle. We help them, we teach them, and we get them to the point where they’re self-sufficient. Then, over the course of time, we fail to reassess. They have grown up and we’re still treating them like babes. We could be so much more productive but we’re just doing enough to get by. There is so much more power available to us but we’re still settling for what’s lightweight and familiar. We see our batteries keep running out prematurely, but we refuse to take the steps necessary to get what we need for sustained power.

Now I will admit, there is a price to pay for increased power. It’s going to cost you something and it’s going to take some getting used to. The more power you have access to, the easier it is for you to accidently hurt yourself or others. You have to take more precautionary measures when your power increases. You may not even understand it at first, but your body may even feel differently after operating this level of power and will require time to settle back down.

On one hand, many of us have access to more power but won’t do what it takes to tap into it. On the other hand, some us want more power but don’t know how to handle it. Then, there are those few that have accessed greater levels of power and have gotten proficient at operating in it. If that’s you, there are people out there who need you. Reach out to someone else and help them. If we can get to the place where we’re more powerful individually, then imagine what we could do once we’re united.

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