“Fixing things may be a cure for narcissism.” -Shop class as Soulcraft, Mathew Crawford

To be sure, whether this is a moral or factual statement remains to be seen.  In any case it is a meaningful phrase.  The act of fixing things seems to be becoming antiquated: “fix when you can buy” is no longer a question but an exclamation.  This simple grammatical change has moral implications.

As we stare down into the abyss of cellphones, the only time we take our eyes off the virtual keyboard is to look at the battery are “bars” display.  Each telling us just a bit of information and at the same time telling us nothing at all.  We know we need both for our illusion to continue, but we have no idea how these things work.

Our fix for one becomes walking around in circles and our fix for the other is not a fix at all: toss it.

Fixing things, whether that is a house or a machine (or even a farm) is not easier than fixing ourselves, but is better.  Let me explain: the one actually does fix the other but the other can never fix the one.  To fix things, fixes the self.  It must because, as Crawford states, and as anyone who has both fixed things and put thought into fixing things will attest, the self must take a backseat to the material thing.

The material part is important because it is not a part of us; it cares a whit for us; it has no agenda or empathy; it simply is.  This fact is ironically somewhat spiritual in nature.  And when things need fixing there is no room for petty arrogance and ignorance will be paid back in full with pain and frustration.

Fixing things reminds us that we are not the center of the universe, something that most of us need to be reminded of quite often.