The end of last week, over the weekend, and even today, I don't feels so well. Neither does my wife, Dottie. In fact, she been in bed the last two days, hardly checking her work email at all. Now that's unusual.
While there's nothing good about being sick, there is something very good about being reminded that I am not immortal, invincible, or irreplaceable. The sense--contrary to all reason--that I am immortal, invincible and irreplaceable is, in fact, a mark of adolescence. You rarely hear a middle-aged person or a senior saying, "Hey, hold my beer and watch this." At some point we outgrow the need to jump off cliffs, swim with sharks, drive at 110 miles an hour, and ski down the mountain without turning.
The trick is to get our spirits to follow the good judgment of our bodies. One of my friends was close to the founder and president of a nonprofit organization who was in his mid-seventies. "What's your succession plan?" my friend once asked. The older man just stared at him and then changed the subject. Later one of the organization's vice presidents took my friend aside and informed him that they never, never bring up a succession plan. The president simply would not discuss it and became angry if pressed. He was operating as if he was immortal, invincible and irreplaceable.
As it turned out, he created a situation in which he was, in fact, irreplaceable. When he became seriously ill, the organization's revenue took a significant dip. Within a few months of his death, the revenue did a nosedive, huge layoffs began, and the organization he so carefully grew nearly declared bankruptcy. How sad and unnecessary.
Part of wisdom is recognizing our limitations in every area of life and in every phase of life. Something to remember the next time we feel under the weather.
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