The Broken Rich Man
A parable for the times
There was once a man who was wealthy as well as handsome but was extremely unhealthy. One day he went to his doctor complaining about pain in his hands. The Doctor saw this and shook his head.
“It seems as if you have arthritis my friend”
The rich man was concerned. “Arthritis?! How terrible? What can I do to stop the pain?”
The doctor peered at him through his glasses and said rather nonchalantly, “Well, you have to cut it off of course.”
The rich man was worried and perplexed but because of the pain, he conceded to his doctor’s recommendation.
The next day he had his hands amputated off.
A few weeks roll by and the rich man starts to experience severe pain in his wrists. He goes to doctor, with only his wrist to bear, to inquire about it.
“Doctor, now my wrist hurts! What can I do to stop the pain?”
The doctor examined his wrists where he was now, without hands and said,
“It seems as if you have phantom pains my friend.”
“What can I do to stop the pain?”
“You need to cut off your arms of course”
The rich man was hesitant but because of the pain he agreed and the next day, his arms was amputated.
The rich man woke up one day and had terrible knee pain. He went to his doctor and complained about it and his doctor said:
“It seems as if you have muscle atrophy”
“What can I do to stop the pain?”
“You need to have it amputated”
The rich man complied and got his knees amputated.
A few months go by and he goes to his doctor again. This time complaining about his eye.
“Doctor, I cannot see through my right eye.”
“It seems as if you have glaucoma.”
“What can you do to help me?”
“There is not cure for this, you will have to have your eye removed.”
The rich man was dismayed but since there was no other options given, he conceded at had his eye removed in surgery the next day.
The once handsome young man who was riddled with body aches and sores, was now a melancholic, mutilated man.
Because he had no arms and no legs as well as a missing eye, he could not work anymore and subsequently, his wealth quickly dwindled away.
The man took to the streets, begging for coins with a rusted tin can.
One day, he saw the doctor walking passed him and he tried to waive him down to ask for help, but the doctor didn’t give him so much as a second glance.
The man broke down as his reality dawned on him. He had been swindled of his very soul. He was a rich and broken man but with help he could’ve made his pain better.
Instead, he cut it off. In attempting to stave off the pain, he simply exchanged it for another. He removed his chronic discomforts at the expense of his very own limbs.
Alas what a tragedy!
The now, poor man, lamented to himself as he succumbed to his grief and took his final breath.
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