Writing
a blog on a topic like this is always difficult. I think that’s because it never feels like
the words measure up to the emotion of the events. The words can never quite seem to capture the
gravity of situation.
Last
week someone I know (not really well, but I talked to him at least once a week
for the last three months), was killed in a hit and run. The day after he died I spoke with his
co-workers, his supervisor, and his mom.
That last one was the most difficult phone call I’ve ever made… If I
think words are failing me now, it’s nothing compared to that phone call…
Needless
to say, anytime something like this happens, it is a horrific and tragic event.
Still, when it happens to someone you
know, it has a different effect. It has
reminded me of a lesson that I’ve heard a thousand times, but which has only
truly sunk in once or twice.
Life is
short. So live it while you’ve got it.
We make
plans for our lives, and that’s all well and good. It’s a sign of ambition, to have goals or
dreams and to systematically chase them.
But we forget how easily our plans can be derailed.
Sometimes
they’re overturned by a bad habit that has never had a negative impact on us
until the one time it does. Sometimes
it’s caused by a single moment of distraction, no matter how brief, or whether
or not we’re even the ones distracted.
It could even happen completely out of the blue, with no rhyme or reason
whatsoever.
In some
ways, we human beings are so much stronger and so much more tenacious than we
give ourselves credit for. But at the
same time, our lives are fragile and can be changed or ended in less than half
a second.
I guess
what I’m trying to say is, planning out your life is great and fantastic. But when your life can end in an instant… well…
don’t let an opportunity for something great pass by just because it doesn’t
fit into your plans. At least give it a
second look. You may think you know
exactly where your life is leading you, but you don’t. Between now, and the time you reach your
goal, your goal and your life will have changed.
Life is
so full of wonders and possibilities; and your chances to enjoy them can end in
a flash. So live every moment… maybe not
as if it is your last moment, but at least as if it is a precious one, because
I guarantee you it is.
Your
entire world can collapse around you with a phone call, a doctor’s words, or a
walk across the street where you never reach the other side…
People
say they want to live a life without regrets.
But not only is that impossible, it’s naïve. If you never regret anything in your life,
then you’ve never accepted your mistakes and learned from them. And I promise you, you will make mistakes,
you will fall, you will fail, and your entire world will be flipped upside down
in ways you never thought possible.
So
chase your dreams, but don’t let them rule your life; have the flexibility to
allow your dreams to change as you do.
Do your best to live a life without regrets, but when you fall, don’t
forget it, learn from it. And remember
to love those close to you, with every fiber of your being, because you never
know when their love could be the only thing left for you to hold on to.
