我有一台Van，是我的日常工作用车。它频繁地在工地、材料行和各种临时场合之间穿梭，所面对的环境和路况，当然不同于轿车的日常生活。
它时不时就会受点伤：不是轮胎被钉子扎了，就是车漆被树枝划了；不是经过限高处碰到车顶灯，就是刹车灯受了伤。它就这样勤勤恳恳地陪着我，出现在各种工作场合。
一次去波士顿的意外
上个月，我开着这台Van从纽约去波士顿机场接人。路程很远，来回仅在路上就差不多需要十个小时，但它仍然完全能够胜任。
第一次到波士顿机场，我不熟悉停车场的环境，误入了一个限高区域，刮坏了车顶后方的尾灯总成。整个总成只靠几根信号线勉强吊着，部分塑料件已经破碎。我捡起一些碎片放在车里，最后不得不剪断信号线，把损坏的总成收进车厢，匆忙返回纽约。
回到纽约时已经是半夜。第二天一有空，我就赶到修车行处理。除了刹车信号灯，倒车影像的摄像头也安装在这套总成里，而摄像头后面的信号线已经从根部断裂。
我问技师能不能把摄像头修好。这样一台大Van没有倒车影像，既不方便，也不安全。技师说摄像头已经无法维修；如果要恢复，就得更换整个尾灯总成，大约需要700美元。
我觉得太贵了。
25美元的解决办法
我没有舍得花700美元更换整个总成。但没有倒车影像，这台Van又会时不时给我造成麻烦，所以我一直琢磨着怎样解决。
既然不想花700多美元换总成，能不能只换掉那个粉碎的摄像头？我去Amazon寻找，还真找到了一款适合这台Van的独立摄像头，价格大约25美元。我买了一个。
收到摄像头以后，我拿到修车店请技师装上。一试，还真成了。
我终于解决了倒车影像的问题。采用的是修修补补的办法，而不是更换整个总成。
修补，也是在锻炼心力
我相信，更换总成的效果会更好。但那样只算是一笔“正常的Business”，而不是一笔“好的Business”。
回看日常生活的其他方面，也经常会出现问题，需要作出决断：是推倒重来，还是先修修补补？有人可能选择从头再来，而我常常会先选择修补。
修补不是将就，也不是拒绝更新。它是在承认现实并不完美之后，仍然愿意耐心寻找一个有效的解决办法。它既节省成本，也训练判断；既解决眼前的问题，也增强一个人的心力。
English Translation
Mending Things Builds Inner Strength
I have a van that I use for work every day. It moves constantly among construction sites, supply stores, and all kinds of temporary work locations. Its environment and road conditions are very different from those of an ordinary passenger car.
From time to time, it gets hurt. A nail punctures a tire; a branch scratches the paint; a low-clearance entrance strikes a roof light; or a brake light is damaged. Through it all, the van works diligently beside me and accompanies me wherever the job requires.
An Accident in Boston
Last month, I drove the van from New York to Boston Logan Airport to pick someone up. The round trip required nearly ten hours on the road, but the van was entirely capable of the journey.
It was my first time at the airport, and I was unfamiliar with the parking structure. I entered an area with insufficient clearance and struck the rear roof light assembly. The assembly was left hanging by only a few signal wires, and several plastic parts had shattered. I gathered the pieces I could find, cut the remaining wires, placed the damaged assembly inside the van, and hurried back to New York.
It was already midnight when I arrived. As soon as I had time the next day, I went to a repair shop. The assembly contained not only the brake light but also the rearview camera, whose wiring had broken away at its base.
I asked the technician whether the camera could be repaired. Driving a large van without a rearview image was inconvenient and unsafe. He told me that the camera itself could not be repaired. Restoring it would require replacing the entire assembly, at a cost of about $700.
That felt too expensive.
A $25 Solution
I could not bring myself to spend $700 on a new assembly, but the lack of a rearview camera continued to create problems. I kept thinking about another solution.
If I did not want to replace the entire assembly, could I replace only the shattered camera? I searched Amazon and found a standalone camera compatible with my van for about $25.
When it arrived, I brought it to the shop and asked the technician to install it. We tested it—and it worked.
I solved the rearview-camera problem by mending what I had, rather than replacing the whole assembly.
A Good Business
I believe a new assembly would have produced a more complete result. But that would have been an ordinary business transaction, not a particularly good one.
Elsewhere in life, problems also appear and decisions must be made: should everything be started over, or should it first be mended? Some people may begin again. I am often inclined to repair what can still be repaired.
Mending is not the same as settling for less, nor does it mean resisting renewal. It means acknowledging that reality is imperfect and still having the patience to search for an effective solution. It saves money and strengthens judgment. It solves the immediate problem while also building inner strength.