We’ve all heard the phrase, “You just need to leave well enough alone!” That means a lot of different things to me.
Maybe you’ve been told to speak only when you’re spoken to, or to think before you speak. Well, what about someone being told not to touch a fence because it’s electric and will shock the fire out of you. We all know what happens next. A hand quickly jerks back, and you hear the words, “My goodness! That was hot!”
The bottom line is, very few of us leave well enough alone. Curiosity, pushing boundaries, trying to prove how tough you are, having to put in your two cents worth or even the need to say one more thing are all good examples of not being able to leave well enough alone.
As with most things, there is a positive side to such a phrase. You won’t be afraid to try new things. After all, if Thomas Edison had not invented light, we would have a hard time getting up to get a midnight snack. The Wright brothers gave us the opportunity to fly planes we could have never imagined. And a big thank you to Alexander Graham Bell. Who wants to think about no telephone?
You will have to admit, we couldn’t try, try again if we left well enough alone. The truth of the matter is, I would have never written this article if it had not been for something I had read. Well, that’s just me. One word or one sentence, and my thought process gets going and I’m off to grab paper and a pen.
Now, I would love to share what I read: A woman brought a very limp parrot into the vet’s office. She laid her pet on the table, and the vet got his stethoscope and listened to the parrot’s chest. After a few minutes, he shook his head and sadly told her that he was sorry, but the parrot had passed away.
“He might just be in a coma or something,” the woman protested. “You have not done any testing or anything.” The vet shrugged, rolled his eyes and left the room, returning with a beautiful black lab. The dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the dead parrot top to bottom. He looked at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head.
The vet took the dog out and returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and sniffed at the bird. The cat then shook his head and ran out of the room meowing.
The vet looked at the woman and said, “I’m sorry, but your parrot is most definitely, certifiably dead.” He then turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill that he handed to the woman for $150. She looked at it and said, “A hundred and fifty dollars just to tell me my bird is dead!?” He shrugged and said, “If you had taken my word for it, it would have only cost $20, but with the lab report and the cat scan it costs more.”
This is one time she should have left well enough alone!
