Rise Up Right Away

Mario and Jun were out cutting wood, and Jun accidentally cut his arm off. Mario wrapped the arm in a plastic bag and brought Jun and his arm to a surgeon. The surgeon said, “Nothing to fear, I’ve done this a hundred times before.” After two hours, Jun walked out of the hospital with his arm reattached. And a few days later, Jun was playing badminton.

Two weeks later, Mario and Jun were cutting wood again, and Jun accidentally cut off his leg. Very calmly, Mario wrapped the leg in a plastic bag and brought Jun to a surgeon again. “It may take a little longer but I can do this,” the doctor said. True enough, after four hours, Jun walked out of the hospital using his two legs. And a few days later, Jun was doing his daily 10-kilometer morning jog.

Two weeks later, Mario and Jun were cutting wood again, and Jun accidentally cut his head off. Very calmly, Mario wrapped the head in a plastic bag and brought Jun to the surgeon. “This is very difficult but let me see what I can do,” the doctor said. But after six hours, the doctor went out of the operating room and told Mario,

“I’m sorry, your friend Jun died.”

Mario nodded. “I understand, doc. It’s very difficult to reattach a cut head.” The surgeon said, “Oh, reattaching is easy. But Jun suffocated in the plastic bag.” I read this crazy story and thought of making it a parable.

The lesson? Our life goes on even if we lose a part of it, as long as we rise up right away and move on.

• If we lose our jobs, it’s not the end of the world. We can get another one, perhaps a better one. Or we’ll be forced to become an entrepreneur. As long as we rise up right away, and not stay inactive for too long, we’ll survive and win over our loss.
• If we lose our health, it’s not the end of the world. As long as we rise up right away, we can recover, recuperate, change our lifestyle and be even healthier than before. (My friend who had cancer told me, “The Big C was the best thing that happened to me. It changed my life. I didn’t know how to live. Now I know how.”
• If we lose a loved one, or if you suffer a failed marriage, or if your own parents break up, it’s not the end of the world either. It’s devastating, and we will always have a wound in our hearts, but we can heal, move on and create a new beginning. If we lose our relationship with God, we can reconcile with Him. As long as we rise up right away, we can repent and rebuild that relationship.

Our fall can teach us many lessons and make us even spiritually stronger. The key is to rise up right away! Don’t stay on the dirt, licking your wounds for eternity.

Don’t wallow in your guilt and let it eat you up forever.

And yes: Don’t let your sadness kill you by putting your cut head in a plastic bag. Even if it’s cut, it still needs to breathe the oxygen of hope.

Friend, rise up right away. (Bo Sanchez)