A Lesson From The Zippo Lighter

2/26/24

My favorite places to find a public restroom on the road are the hardware stores, Home Depot or Lowes. I left Ethan’s place in Venture around sunset, and landed somewhere around Simi Valley, CA when darkness fell. After stopping in at a Best Buy to buy supplies for a new project I’m working on, I walked next door to the Lowes to use the restroom before heading off to find a park to sleep at.

One reason I like the hardware stores so much is because they carry a wide variety of tools one can utilize on their adventures. I often detour to the tools section, and admire the hatchets, pocket knives, gloves, and saws. On this particular day, I passed a clearance bin, containing a zippo lighter.

I remembered seeing a zippo lighter recently, perhaps at a Walmart check out line, and thought to myself that I should keep it in mind, and return soon to buy one. Zippo lighters are classic, reliable, and practical for someone like me. The thing is, I did not keep it in mind at all.

In fact, I had completely forgotten that zippo lighters existed from the moment I left that Walmart to the moment I saw this one in the Lowes clearance bin.

But at the Lowes, I thought to myself that I remembered really wanting one, so maybe I should buy it now, or maybe I should keep this one in mind, and come back some other time and buy it.

But, if the only time I wanted a zippo lighter was when there was a zippo lighter right in front of me, how much did I really want one. And certainly, how much did I really need one.

Compare that to a pocket knife, the last of mine I lost when my coworker Dylan skipped town with my knife in his car. I think about getting a new pocket knife almost every day, largely because of all the times I need one and don’t have one on me.

I have other lighters. I even have boxes of matches in almost all of my clothes pockets. Perhaps it’s better to focus on the things that you can’t stop thinking about, because you know you’ll use them, and they might actually make your life better, instead of adding useless weight.

I think the same is true with your calendar, or the things you want to do, or maybe anything. When I see a picture of the Bahamas, of course I want to go to the Bahamas. But when I am not looking at a picture of the Bahamas, I forget all about the Bahamas. When I am not looking at anything, no phone in my hand, at least these days, what I really want is to hang out with my friends, and spend time in the woods.

The zippo lighter reminded me to be careful with the desires that come and go quickly, and remain focused on the deeper desires, that cross my mind more often. And if I’m being honest, the deeper desires are much more simple, achievable, and few.