Don McCauley submitted this amusing story to the WelcomeJoy ebook. I think you'll enjoy it.
"Once upon a time, there was a man who wanted to hammer a nail into a wall. The man picked up the nail with his left hand and the hammer in his right. He swung the hammer with a mighty swing.
But, not being experienced in such matters, he missed the hail, hitting his left thumb with the mighty blow intended for the nail. The skin of the left thumb was broken and blood began to stream out everywhere, pooling on the floor.
“What the heck did you do that for?” screamed the left thumb.
“Do what for?” asked the right hand, acting rather sheepish.
“Hit me with the hammer!” exclaimed the left thumb, bleeding profusely.
”I didn’t,” lied the right hand.
“Yes, you did,” stated the left thumb forcefully. “You were trying to kill me!”
“We better get to a hospital,” said the left leg. “Let’s go.”
The trip to the hospital was a rough one, as the right hand refused to open the car door and would not help steer the car. This forced our poor man to steer using his left wrist. Of course, the right leg would not press on the gas pedal at all. This forced the man to run both the gas and the brake with his left foot, switching back and forth, back and forth.
Eventually the left thumb was bandaged, sutured and splinted and everyone somehow managed to make it home in one piece.
“We demand a trial for attempted murder,” shouted the left knee-cap and the entire left side joined in. “The head must be the judge, as it is wisest and is impartial in matters such as attempted murder.”
The trial took many days, as there was much arguing, the body being split right down the middle on many issues. The debate raged on and on. But, as these things go, the right hand was eventually convicted of attempted murder with a deadly hammer. The deciding vote was cast by the right knee, who was known to be a turncoat anyway.
Finally the Day of Judgment arrived. “It is the decision of this court,” pronounced the head solemnly, “that the right hand is guilty of attempted murder. The sentence is…. surgical removal from the body and permanent exile.”
The entire left side of the body cheered, as the four faithful finger-brothers of the left hand gleefully reached for the butcher knife on the nearby table….
Now, this is a ridiculous story. If you were to hit your own left thumb with a mighty blow from a hammer, causing it to split and bleed, you would most certainly grab it with your right hand and apply pressure to stem the flow of blood.
Both sets of legs and feet would hustle off to the nearest sink. You would turn on the water with the right hand, apply some form of ointment perhaps, bandage it up and head to the hospital, both sets of hands, arms, legs, feet and eyes working in unison to stop the flow of blood and repair the damage.
You would do this because, you know something very important…If the left thumb were to continue to bleed unchecked, you might die.
This story is a perfect example of how we sometimes live this world. We believe that everything is separate. We believe everything has just its own interests at heart and protects and defends these selfish interests accordingly. We see divisions everywhere we look.
What we don’t realize is that everything is connected. This is the key to peace and joy."
Don McCauley, from the book ‘Learn to Live a Life Without Problems – The Heaven On Earth Self-Actualization System’
