Random Viruses

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Today I’m alone at home in a very quiet house. I’m skipping church because of some sort of virus that makes my head ache and causes chills. This is rare. I’m never sick. This makes me think of my 90 year old, who is also rarely sick.

A few weeks ago, my dad and Uncle John, age 94, were splitting firewood. (I know, I know.) An accident happened and Dad hurt two of his fingers. They aren’t healing as they should and on Tuesday, if healing hasn’t started, his two fingers will be amputated.

So, today I’m thinking about being sick—the catch a random virus and get chills and headache type—versus making yourself sick—the putting yourself in danger and losing your fingers type.

Even random viruses can be avoided. When I taught piano lessons, I’d have a pencil for marking, a piano for playing and a mouth for holding the pencil while I played. Often my students would use this pencil for theory. I know why I held the pencil in my mouth. If I put it on the piano it would fall onto the floor or into the piano (that last one happened a lot and it’s very obnoxious to have a pencil rolling around inside of a piano.) A friend suggested I tie a pencil with a string to the piano—a stupid idea, but probably not as stupid as passing a pencil from my mouth to student to student to student.

We can make ourselves sick in all sorts of unnecessary ways. Physically, mentally, spiritually. Maybe it’s a matter of learning when it’s time to let someone else split the firewood, or wearing a shirt with a pocket protector for a pencil. Fingers can be saved. Germs don’t need to spread.


Most illnesses even the mental and spiritual kind can be avoided if we just take care. I love the Bare Naked Ladies (the band—not naked ladies in general, most people just look better clothed) and they have a song with this line if there’s someone you can live without, just do so. It’s brilliant advice. While it’s true that sometimes we’re unavoidably thrown together with personalities that don’t match our own, we can take care to avoid certain situations and people. We can walk away from gossip. We don’t have to go to that party.

I love the scripture:
For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own.

By Wednesday, I’m pretty sure that my random virus will be gone. I’m not sure what will become of my dad’s fingers. This makes me think that of the two—the make yourself sick or the random virus—the make yourself sick is the worst sickness of all.