The lucky sperm that you are
At the risk of over-sharing, but for the sake of the story, I had a vasectomy at the age of 70.
It was in the Bumrungrad Hospital, Bangkok, the number five hospital in the world and number one in Asia, as they told me proudly.
The doctor explained the procedure, which separates the cell-sized sperm from the semen, and mentioned that at the time of my conception there would have been 40 to 50 million of these tiny ‘tadpoles’ racing for the goal.
Mine, (that’s me) won the race.
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I paused. “Are they all different?” I asked. “I mean, if one of the others got there first would it still have been me?“
There was a moment of silence. He looked at me over his glasses and shook his head.
“No, not you,” he said. “You were lucky or clever, or at least the fastest. They are all different.”
That blew my mind. It was incredible – I was the lucky sperm!
That’s good enough for me. Forget the fairy tales of the afterlife, a bonus at best. To win the race and have three score years and ten and more in this incredible experience of life is enough.
Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous
Albert Einstein
I know that I can make an enormous difference through my actions, but the outcome is beyond my control. Or “Inshalla” as the Muslims say. Knowing this, at the very least, stops you playing God.