Carnal Wisdom

In late November (2016), I fell down a set of concrete stairs at the Powell Street BART (rapid transit) station in downtown San Francisco, CA. After tumbling head over heels to the bottom, I did a quick check of my sundry pieces and body parts and realized that all I had broken was my ego. Based on spills I'd taken before, I decided to wait it out until the scraped skin and soreness healed on their own. By the time I returned home that evening, however, I knew something was wrong. I'd injured my bloody and painful left shin pretty badly. 

Several days later, the wound became infected and I ended up in the hospital--for four days! Following that unwanted disruption in my active life, I began a rehab process that is just now coming to an end, three months later. It turned out that what I considered a superficial wound had created a blood clot that went nearly to the bone.

I like to believe there's always something good that comes out of the not-so-good stuff that happens to me. My life experience has proven that to be true over and over again. This time was no different. Week by week, as the nurses dressed, treated, and redressed my open wound, I experienced an amazing, close-up revelation and realization that my carnal flesh has a profound, even spiritual, wisdom of its own. I'm sure this isn't news to people in the physical and medical sciences. As long as we kept the wound clean, my leg knew exactly how to reconstruct its damaged tissues, layer by layer, in perfect order.

The result? I have a new awe-filled appreciation for the intelligence of my flesh and bones. You might read this and say, "Duh, what's so new about that?" Well, for this guy who lives in his head and the clouds most of the time, it's big news! 

(c) 2017 by Alfred J. Garrotto

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