Tragedy

Again I come across another example of the value of life and how we should live in the moment rather than worrying about the past or fretting over the future, both of which we have no control over.

There is a family who lives in our co-op, whose two of their three children were in a car accident. The boy, who is nineteen was driving and the girl, twenty was the passenger. He ran a stop sign and was hit by another car. His sister died.

That is the end of it for her. Nothing more to happen in her life. No college, no more birthdays, no more Christmas's, no wedding, no children; end. Nothing more to look forward to but memories in the hearts and minds of her loved ones. All hopes and dreams shattered with one split second of inattention.

Who can honestly say that they've never accidentally run through a stop sign, or done something while driving which could have an unfortunate result. We consider ourselves lucky and continue on our way, maybe slowing down or paying more attention and thanking our luck stars.

How terrible for that boy who will, for the rest of his life, have to live with the fact that his sister died in a car accident while he was at the wheel. He will probably never get over it and his life will forever be changed. The outcome could have very easily been different, had he been seconds faster or slower, and life would have gone on for his sister and his life and the lives of his family would have not been irreversibly changed.

Life is a crap shoot and we never know what's going to happen. If you believe in fate, then it is destined to happen and maybe someone else would have run a stop sign and hit their car, killing the girl. If you believe in God, then He already knew that it was going to happen and how, even though we have free will. If you believe in the afterlife, then she's in a better place. If you believe in reincarnation, then she's already being born into another life.

The trouble is, we don't really know and we are just forced to accept whatever we believe, in hopes that it will help us in our own life, whether by lesson or realization, revelation or cognizance. We are bound in ignorance by our upbringing and later in life, by our experience and decisions which either reinforce or cripple that belief. In effect, we don't really know anything or why anything happens and are bound only by the limits of our imagination when it really comes down to it. And in our seemingly senseless wanderings, are shocked and dismayed when a tragedy such as this occurs, making us think again, how fragile life is and how very little we know about it.

So now I will hug my wife and I will hug my children and tell them all that I love them. They are my life and I want to spend as much quality time with them as our life will permit, and I will be thankful for that time. I will cherish the memories of that time and it will blend into the present, as time goes on, to strengthen our ties and create lasting relationship which will extend beyond the grave.

We are small and insignificant in the broad aspect of the world but important beyond comprehension to those who love us and are close to our hearts. Life is unexpected, both in its beginning and its end. We are merely a heartbeat in the extent of time; how will we leave our mark?