Saturday, February 26, 2011
Spiritualism vs. Multitasking
Friday morning after my walk with my friends Chuck and Wally I drove home. In getting out of my car I used my right hand to shut the door. In the process the tip of my right hand ring finger was caught between the top of the door and the door frame. A piece of flesh and a piece of bone was separated from my finger. I wrapped the bleeding finger with Kleenex and phoned 911 for an ambulance. I retrieved the piece of the finger and took it with me to the emergency room. The ER doctor, Dr. Yang, looked at it and decided it couldn't be reattached. My finger was x-rayed, cleaned, dressed, and bandaged. I was instructed not to take showers (to keep the bandage cry) and was given material to replace the bandage in two days. I was given prescriptions for an antibiotic and for easing pain. Monday or Tuesday I will visit a hand specialist who will look at the finger and decide on how to help it heal.
I've thought about this mishap for some time, trying to make sense of it. I've been driving cars for about 70 years and never before have I caught my finger in a car door. I thought that the spiritualists are correct. A spirit was trying to get my attention. Perhaps God himself (or herself) has an important message for me. What was I thinking at the time? Perhaps it was a thought that God disapproved of. I couldn't remember what it was. Was there some plan I had to do something that God didn't like? Again, I came up with nothing. Perhaps the message will be revealed to me when God is ready. But, why then the unusual calamity with my finger?
Then I realized that there was a simple interpretation. I am a man and a study recently revealed that men can't multitask. Women can, but they're not good at it. I was trying to multitask. I was thinking about something else while I closed the door. As a result I didn't pay attention to my fingers and one of them was caught in the door. I realized that I occasionally tip over glasses of liquid at the table when I reach for something. I must stop trying to multitask. When I reach for something or close a door I must concentrate on what I'm reaching for or the door, not something else. Perhaps that was God's message.
I've thought about this mishap for some time, trying to make sense of it. I've been driving cars for about 70 years and never before have I caught my finger in a car door. I thought that the spiritualists are correct. A spirit was trying to get my attention. Perhaps God himself (or herself) has an important message for me. What was I thinking at the time? Perhaps it was a thought that God disapproved of. I couldn't remember what it was. Was there some plan I had to do something that God didn't like? Again, I came up with nothing. Perhaps the message will be revealed to me when God is ready. But, why then the unusual calamity with my finger?
Then I realized that there was a simple interpretation. I am a man and a study recently revealed that men can't multitask. Women can, but they're not good at it. I was trying to multitask. I was thinking about something else while I closed the door. As a result I didn't pay attention to my fingers and one of them was caught in the door. I realized that I occasionally tip over glasses of liquid at the table when I reach for something. I must stop trying to multitask. When I reach for something or close a door I must concentrate on what I'm reaching for or the door, not something else. Perhaps that was God's message.
