I had been out doing some mundane errands before by trip to Chicago. My thoughts really on the impending rain storm. I love storms. Yet, I would prefer to be at home to watch them from the comfort of my porch swing - not out doing errands. But then again, stuck at a bookstore as a cloud opened up is not a bad way to spend the afternoon. A good cup of tea, curled up in a comfy chair, good book - not a bad perspective.
The cloud passed and off again. As I finished up and was heading home, the phone rang. My husband calling. I pulled over for the short conversation as the rain made it difficult enough to see the road without the distraction of talking on the phone. So many pauses - so many shifts in perspective as I reflect backwards. But isn't that the way - it is always a moment of clarity when we look backwards. I continued on my journey home.
Not five minutes from my home is when it happened. The BIG moment. In a single heartbeat the world changed for multiple people. In a single heartbeat lives were forever impacted. The moment was a choice. A choice made by one that effected many. What was that choice? That singular choice that changed the lives of so many.
A young woman driving in a rainstorm made the choice to text. Made the choice that whomever she was speaking to had more importance than anything else in the world. One wonders if she had any idea that when she woke up that morning, if her choices would effect so many others? Could she image that something she did would have such an impact of the lives of others? As she looked down at her phone to make sure she typed the words correctly, her black SUV rammed into a one ton truck with a trailer full of propane tanks. Lives changed ...
A single moment. A single choice.
How many times a day do we make a single choice without thinking, without contemplating the actions and more importantly the reactions of that choice? We each do it countless times a day. We make choices, make decisions, seemingly unimportant ones. Yet, every choice we make, every action we take, has the potential to change lives. Many times not only our own.
The energy of the scene palpable, but how often do we pause in our own lives to see the energy of our choices? Every single choice we make has energy. That energy ripples outward. It will touch others lives. I know that for me, after the BIG moment, even the smallest of choices seem larger than life. The smallest of choices . . .
If we set our intention that every choice is done with mindful intention, every choice done with thought, and every choice done with spiritual integrity how would the impact around us be felt? Big question, but then again every choice is a BIG moment.
I wonder how your experience of the accident might have changed if you had not pulled over to talk with your husband---did his call affect your timing>closer to/farther away from...Might you have missed seeing it entirely or been a part of it??
ReplyDeleteLike your postings a lot