Lessons from the Edge

I'm really big on knife safety in the kitchen, I really am.  But no matter how safe you are, you will get cut.  Sometimes badly.

Sometimes very badly.


Believe me . . . I can testify.  About a year ago, I sliced off about a quarter of an inch from my left index finger.  It was enough of my finger that I was able to put it in a plastic bag and take it with me to the ER, just in case they needed to sew it back on.  In hindsight, I probably should have known better, but, hey, it was my first time losing an appendage.  Luckily, they didn't have to sew it back on, and it eventually grew back (apparently, I'm part starfish).  For a while, though, my finger looked like a fresh slice of ahi tuna.  Fun stuff.  Should have scrapbooked some pictures.   


I tell this story because it struck me that while safety is important, it is not foolproof.  I know the safety rules:  I keep my knives sharpened and honed, I never raise the tip of the blade off of my cutting board, I feed the food in and keep my fingers curled under.  But accidents happen and as a result, fingers get carved into nice little tuna-colored fragments.   


And that's sort of the way with life, isn't it?  We do important things like wear seatbelts, but seatbelts don't prevent another car from running into the back of us.  We invest in a 401(k) or an IRA in order to protect our futures, but we die of cancer at the age of forty.  We check for radon, install smoke detectors, and buy fire extinguishers, and a tree falls through our roof.  Or we follow the safety rules and still cut off part of our finger.


I guess what I'm driving at is that maybe, just maybe, we need to stop trusting in the things we do to keep ourselves safe, because those things can't keep us safe.  Not ultimately.  Illness doesn't respect your financial plan.  Laws can't force people to obey them.  Nature didn't sign a treaty with us, promising never to interfere.  We are not as in control as we delude ourselves into thinking; we are not as strong as we think we are.  Then again, if we're so fragile that a single accident with a cooking utensil can send us to the hospital, do we really need to be in control?  Shouldn't we, you know, find someone a little better?  Maybe we should trust in Someone Who will outlast our savings, our governments, and nature itself. 

Just a little something to think about this weekend.  :-)