“It’s a simple spell, but quite unbreakable.”

I was grinding miles on the treadmill the other day, indulging in two habits that I find healing: running and watching action movies. To be clear, I don’t actually enjoy running. But any animus I have towards running pales in the glow of the joy I feel from having run. I do not like running; I love, love, love finishing a run.

There’s a rule in our house that if you are working out on the treadmill—running, rucking, or walking—you get to watch anything you want, and no one can say anything about it. I’ve watched poorly dubbed action flicks, the 1980’s G. I. Joe cartoons, and major blockbuster hits while I sweated through some stress.

This time, it was Avengers: Infinity Wars. Yeah, where they lose at the end. But we weren’t there yet. We were just starting out. The Maw has captured Dr. Strange, and is attempting to take the Eye—and the Time Stone—from him. Dr. Strange has magically locked the amulet to himself, and says, “It’s a simply spell, but quite unbreakable.”

And I really liked that. Simple. Effective. An elegant solution.

Most troubles in life have such solutions. It might be a conversation. Might be a confession, or admission. Might involve some effort to right the wrongs, but when you really understand the problem at hand, the solution is pretty well staring you in the face, sitting patiently next to the problem, waiting to be noticed. Waiting for clarity and understanding.

So often in so many places in life, before you can hope to solve the problem, simply and elegantly, you really need to understand the problem.

Food for thought, anyway.