After three days of wait-and-see, I had to admit: This was more than a few sore muscles. I still wasn’t sure if I had pulled or torn something, but some treatment and possibly a visit to the doctor were in order. Damn you, bowling ball in weight class 11!
In the morning, I researched what I could do immediately. “Apply cold or heat, depending on what you prefer.” Okay, easy enough. Or was it? I remembered grandma’s hot-water bottles from when I was younger. My parents also always had one stashed away somewhere. And my sister swore by her cherry seed pillow. But I instantly knew: I don’t have one in the house.
I looked up alternatives. I could stuff a sock with rice and put it in the oven, I learned. Or heat a wet towel in the microwave. But since I had some unreturned deposit bottles, I went with the simplest and fastest option: Fill a plastic one with a fitting shape with hot water from the tap, then wrap it in a dishtowel. Voilà! My makeshift heat appliance was ready.
15 minutes later, while sitting in meditation, it finally hit me: “Hot-water bottle. Oh! Wait… Hot-water bottle!” In German, “hot-water bottle” translates to “Wärmflasche,” which, similar to its English counterpart, literally means “warming bottle.” And while I had pictured the typical, flat rubber gadgets we typically use nowadays, what I ended up improvising was simply the most literal version: a plastic bottle with hot water inside.
The easiest option was right in front of me all along. All I would have had to do was reflect on the word. No research needed.
Not every problem needs a dedicated tool. Are hot-water bottles useful? Sure. But if you don’t have the perfect, pre-fitted solution at hand, don’t despair. Keep it literal when literal will do. You’ll be surprised how far your available resources can go.
