size is a point of view

It’s a point of view

53 Replies

Have you ever been faced with a task, at work or at home, that seemed so big you didn’t know where to start?

Have you ever been hustled by a supervisor, external or internal, to make a start whether ready or not?

Have you ever jumped in, hoping it would all work out in the end?

Have you ever chipped away without any real sense of direction and eventually found what you were looking for?

Charli Mills flash fiction challenge chisel

It was of these situations I was thinking as I responded to this week’s flash fiction prompt set by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch to In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes a chisel. Use chisel as a noun or a verb. Think about what might be chiseled, who is chiseling. Be the chisel. Go where the prompt leads!

Perspective

The monumental task cast a shadow deep and long, miniaturising the toolkit at his feet.

He shook his head, muttering complaints and impossibilities.

The supervisor appeared. “Better get started. No time to waste.”

He rummaged through the toolkit, lifting, inspecting and replacing each implement in turn.

“What’s the holdup?” bellowed the supervisor.

He grabbed the mallet and whacked the stone. “Take that!” Chunks smashed around him. He wiped his brow and whacked again.

“Great. You’ve started at last,” encouraged the supervisor.

Later, as the light turned, the shadow faded and diminished. He lifted his chisel and refined his work.

size is a point of view

Of course, I’ve had the opposite happen too. I’ve begun a task that I thought was miniscule but turned out to be mammoth. What about you?

Thank you blog post

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.

Image of quarry by Ann Jessica Johnson from Pixabay.

 

53 thoughts on “It’s a point of view”

  3. Hugh's Views and News

    Oh, this reminds me of a task I did last week, Norah, where my partner asked me to fix his computer. I watched a video on YouTube on how to do it but didn’t follow one of the instructions because I thought what the presenter was saying was incorrect. I ended up with a broken computer. How was I going to explain that to my partner?
    I spent the next two hours trying to repair it, thinking it was going to be a mammoth task. Just before giving up and thinking I’d have to buy a new computer, I noticed that the wif-fi symbol was ghosted out. I connected the wi-fi and everything worked. Such a small thing for what I thought was a mammoth task.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Norah Post author

      Oh dear, Hugh. You started with a little problem, quickly turned it into a mammoth one, and then found out it was only a little one after all. Isn’t it crazy how such a little thing can make a big difference, and it’s not always easy to see.

      Liked by 1 person

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  5. Patricia Tilton

    Enjoyed you 99 word challenge. Very relevant for me as I think about spring cleaning. But, have run into blocks at work on projects, where there was no way something would happen (even if it was the chief of staff requesting something) because it was illegal and wouldn’t happen.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Norah Post author

      I’m pleased you enjoyed the post, Patricia, and am glad that even a chief couldn’t force you to do something illegal. Thanks for reading and commenting.

      Like

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  8. Charli Mills

    Yes! And I don’t like that feeling of being rushed. I know I’m a processor, and I know others dive in and do it. But we can get “analysis paralysis” too, trying to figure out how to jump in. Great perspective!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Norah Post author

      Thanks, Charli. I know I’ve done all of those things. Sometimes I just need to get started, other times I need to figure out how. 🙂

      Like

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  9. Pingback: To Chisel « Carrot Ranch Literary Community

  11. Christy B

    This flash fiction reminds me of times I’ve been hesitant to start something and then did and never looked back. Errrr, case in point: the women’s blog!

    Terrific flictional piece here, Norah.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Norah Post author

      I’m so pleased you did your women’s blog, Christy. It’s inspirational. You do so much to promote successful women and share advice on living happy lives. Thank you, Christy.

      Liked by 1 person

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  12. explorereikiworld

    Cleaning has always been such a task for me esp when my boys refuse to pitch in! Last week I woke up with a resolution to have a clean house. Towards the end of the day…all things in place. This week ‘trying’ to keep it that way.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Norah Post author

      That’s funny, Susan. It reminds me of a Three Stooges scene – Niagra Falls. Do you remember it? “Slowly I turned. Step by step. Inch by Inch.” I can’t remember any more at the moment, but I used to quote it regularly, years ago. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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  17. Anne Goodwin (Annecdotist)

    For me, it was and still is, the little tasks that become oppressive. Each one should take just 10 minutes, but half a dozen takes an hour, usually time that’s not been put aside for it.
    Your flash reminds me of the people who quarried gritstone and then chiselled the rock into millstones which are still scattered around the area where I walk. Hunger rather than a supervisor breathing down their necks. A crack and all that work is wasted.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Norah Post author

      I know what you mean, Anne. All those little tasks that add up to a huge effort. Chip away. Chip away.
      Hunger can be a great motivator. How awful it would be to waste all that work.

      Liked by 1 person

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  18. Ritu

    Oh man, do. I Know what you mean!
    Actually this weekend just gone was an ideal example.
    I’ve been dreading clearing the kitchen. You know, the whole empty out everything. Throw away stuff, rejig the cupboards, deep clean it. That kind of job.
    There are a lot of nooks and crannies…
    My parents were over, and my mum ended up starting it, because, well, she’s my mum and she can’t help herself!
    We slaved for over 7 hours… And the lions share is thankfully done now… Phew!
    But we ached the next day!

    Liked by 1 person

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      1. Ritu

        I know, bless her. I think it’s an inherent trait in most mums… And definitely Indian ones, that you feel you want to take burden away from your child, no matter what your child’s age!
        But it’s a pleasure to go into the kitchen now!

        Liked by 1 person

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  19. thecontentedcrafter

    I laughed out loud at this: ‘Have you ever jumped in, hoping it would all work out in the end?’ Story of my life 😀 Now that I am oh so much older I have almost learned to think before jumping – but not always before speaking (or writing) I found myself studying the picture you have here, the quarry and it’s levels and the truck and men looking like toys – that’s a big gash into the earth and I don’t know why so it’s interesting and stirring. Perhaps I’m reading too much into it – but that’s my response to it. Of course I also read your flash and that made me both laugh and cringe – ‘There take that’ could equally have been aimed at stone and supervisor and quite amused me. But the inward cringe came with the thought of completely wrecking any opportunity to find anything in the stone……. So that’s a pretty good flash to have stirred up conflicting emotions in just 99 words!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Norah Post author

      I am pleased I gave you a laugh, Pauline. Sometimes, even when I give things a lot of consideration first, I realise I’ve made the wrong choice immediately after having done so. I wish I could make better choices sometimes.
      I was looking for images of shadows but had been unsuccessful in finding what I wanted when I came across the photo of the quarry. I thought it was a good way of dealing with perspective – in the depth of the quarry the truck looks minute, but compared to the men it is huge. I didn’t intend it to have any other meaning, but of course we all take what we will.
      I’m pleased you saw the conflict of intent in ‘take that’. That was my intention. Fortunately, he didn’t wreck everything in the stone but was able to find it’s internal beauty.
      Thank you for your appraisal of my story. I appreciate it. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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