Jimmy Fallon had a fall, and it was beautiful.

I often speak to my clients about the idea of “deconstruction” in life. It can be a drawn-out process, a bankruptcy, a divorce, an illness..  or it can be an acute moment when something happens that shakes us out of a seemingly controlled and organized way of being. All the hard work, the years of lining up our ducks in a row, all the successes, the material achievements are suddenly cast into a distortion of meaninglessness. The trauma of pain, shock or loss opens a window of awareness, from that moment on.

Jimmy Fallon is a highly successful man, a comedian renowned for his ability to make people happy. That’s what comics do. In a matter of a few seconds, the time it took for him to trip over a rug in his kitchen and catch his wedding ring on the counter, he entered a new kind of experience, where the fragility of his physical mortality played out before his eyes, and he found himself dependent upon the love and care of others, in what turned out to be the very serious matter of saving his finger from amputation.

Terrible things happen every day. Ask any physician working ER or any military paramedic, but this particular incident is potent because of Jimmy’s public persona. What we witness in the video above is a comedian who suddenly has to reach to find something funny to say, because his customary persona has been disassembled, and a whole new awareness given birth on one potent day.

Jimmy seems to verge on tears several times as he describes the power of the loving attention he received during his hospitalization. He also references a classic book, Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. I have so often mentioned this book, as it has found its way into the hands of many on an awakening path. Regarding Frankl, Wikipedia says the book “chronicles his experiences as a concentration camp inmate, which led him to discover the importance of finding meaning in all forms of existence, even the most brutal ones, and thus, a reason to continue living. Frankl became one of the key figures in existential therapy and a prominent source of inspiration for humanistic psychologists.^[3]“

Why is this story beautiful? Because in the daily enactment of our roles upon this three dimensional plane of human theatre called Earth, it is possible to waste an entire life distracted by survival and achievement, perhaps especially for those who do well at it. Okay, waste may be the wrong word, because nothing is ever wasted in a universe that births and eats and recreates itself into eternity. But a moment like Jimmy’s, where he takes a painful derailment and announces to a worldwide audience that he was transformed by Man’s Search for Meaning and now knows that he is here to help, to support others who are in pain…  that’s a moment worth noting. This awakening sh*t is getting around.

Of course, it is very tempting to take note of the fact that it was his wedding ring which brought him down. That he thanked the angels from the hospital several times with deep emotion, yet made only two references to his wife – one that the rug he tripped over was chosen by her, and later, a few incoherent muttered words which suggested he was expected to thank her as well, but didn’t want to. He does say that he is looking into inventing a new kind of ring, presumably one with an auto-release function, which metaphorically would be an interesting principle to apply to his marriage.

But of all the Jimmy Fallon episodes I have seen (not many I confess as we don’t have cable) this one is the memorable one. And I can’t wait to see where he goes from here. Will the impulse to a broader, deeper perspective take hold, or will his finger heal and allow him to return to an unconscious life, until the next deconstruction. Because that’s the way it works. Take note Jimmy. When we meet our karma head on, things tend to go easier. If you want to eat up your life before it gobbles up you, I have sessions available next week.

much love,

AdiKanda