Tripp knew he had a lot of housework to complete. He looked around at the overwhelming mess surrounding him. The kitchen, the living room, the bathroom—all were in complete disarray.
Not knowing where to start, he sat down at his computer and decided to write a book about how he planned to go about doing it.
Some think there are only two in the world—us and them. Some try to beat the system, as if the system was something to be conquered. Nevertheless, the present system is comprised of all who have used the system or beat the system in their own way of dealing with the system. Therefore the system is nothing more than the sum of all of its contributors. It is not the system that we are generally attempting to beat, or even brag about beating, but rather it is our entry into the system through unconventional means.
Once we are in the system, we may wittingly or unwittingly modify the system for the good or perpetuate what we hated about the system in the first place. We may even learn something from the system, perhaps even the necessity of some of the system’s attributes—even the things we may not have liked before. A higher level of understanding about the system.
Still, we may be persuaded by the system. Persuaded to do what we don’t like to do even though we know in our hearts that it is not the thing to do. At this point we are no longer modifiers or contributors to the system, but programs produced by the system.
Tripp was in a hospital room recovering from bunion surgery. The man in the bed next to Tripp—who occupied the second bed—was suffering from a serious illness.
A doctor was appointed to deliver some bad news to the man in the second bed, but he was very tired and confused from working many hours. Therefore, the doctor accidentally spilled the beans to Tripp, saying, “Sir, I am sorry that I have to tell you this…but you have only two months left to live.”
Tripp was stricken with grief about this news and went home from the hospital very sad. Two months, two weeks, and two days later, Tripp was nearly dead when the phone rang in his home. His wife answered solemnly but—after talking to the doctor—immediately leaped for joy.
The priest who was by Tripp’s side asked his wife what the call was about. She explained how the doctor had given the bad news to the wrong patient. It wasn’t Tripp who was supposed to get the bad news—it was for the man next to him! Tripp was going to be okay after all!
The doctor’s next call was to the man who had been in the bed next to Tripp—the patient suffering from the serious illness. The doctor told him the news that he had initially given Tripp by accident.
And about two months later, he died.
Tripp and his wife were sitting on a bench at a local park. His wife asked him to hold her purse while she went to use the rest room
“Can’t you just take it with you?” Tripp questioned. “If someone sees me sitting here with a purse, they might think it belongs to me!”
“No, I never take my purse to the Ladies Room,” his wife responded. “But here, I will cover it for you so no one will see it.” Then she took off her bright pink flowered sweatshirt and placed it over the purse.
Tripp’s son drove his vehicle directly into a neighbor’s house. Since the SUV was damaged beyond repair, Tripp contacted the insurance company seeking a settlement.
The claims adjuster informed Tripp that there was nothing he could do as the accident was clearly his son’s fault.
Tripp defended his son saying, “No ma’am, you don’t understand. It was actually the house that hit my son’s car.”