It was a typical Tuesday night, riding in a car with a couple of friends to go grab dinner. The air was crisp and I was rambling incessantly about my work day. We were maybe 300 feet from a highway overpass when it happened. A station wagon drove OFF of the freeway. Time seemed to stop as I watched in horror as the car seemed to flip and bounce, but still managed to land upright.
More than 24 hours later, I can still recall all of the details. I remember my first instinct was to dial 911. I sat in the phone with the operator trying to describe the scene, as passersby stopped to assist. The car had flames starting under the hood, but somehow somebody had a fire extinguisher. There were people that helped to get the driver out of the vehicle. People that helped divert traffic so that the rescue vehicles would have a clear path.
Here's the thing. Life can change in an instant. Sometimes it's for the best, we have some sort of good fortune, something great happens in our life. And some cases are not so good. We can get news that hits us out of nowhere, stuns us as we try to figure out answers. Why. How. Will it be ok? Whether good or bad, there are events in our life that cannot be changed because they have already happened, and I don't have the ability to change the past yet... So that leaves me to choose how to deal with it. And FYI ignoring a bad situation, like an illness, is not dealing with it. It won't just go away. So we handle it. Take the news. Before informed. And find out the best way to fix the situation.
It's been said that perception is reality. And that attitude is everything. For me, I find both of these to be true. If I think everything sucks and that my world is falling apart, then it probably will continue. Which is why I'm still working on changing my outlook on certain issues. Because who knows when the next crash will happen?
Jake
