Wisdom

Sitting here now I just recalled the wisdom a dying man shared with me when I had been burnt less then a month before. I was stuck in a hospital bed in great pain and undergoing debrading which consisted in 1952 of scrubbing me in a tub of water with a wire brush to remove the dead tissue of the burn to help prevent gangrene. Believe me that is almost as painful as the initial burn.

He said "Son don't dwell on the pain or it will eat you. Don't dwell on poor me or you will never get well. Don't dwell on blaming others for your situation for then you will always look at others with fear. Instead ask God to ease your pain. Look at others as sharing your pain and problems and offer them hope and a smile. In doing so you will always be able to change the bad to good." That night I watched them pull the sheet over his face. I never knew his name or what killed him but remember his gasping for breath with every word. I guess that wisdom has stuck even today.

Bob Smith 8/23/2011