Life Could Be So Different

Life isn’t always easy, nor is it always fun. At some point there will be be hard things that you are going to have to say or do, despite the fact that every tiny little microscopic bit of you doesn’t want to do them. Yesterday I had to say goodbye to one of my best friends, as he leaves for college in the coming days. Let me tell you, this was one of those times. As we sat for 2 1/2 hours along the backside of the Hockinson Market, drinking Darigold chocolate milk (a tradition started three years ago during daily doubles week in football) and reminiscing on the “glory days”, the same thought kept popping into both of our heads. Life could be so different. 

It really is a deep thought; one of those things that is almost too intellectual to think about. Every single decision we, or any of our ancestors ever made got us to where we are today. What would of happened if one of those decisions wasn’t made, or was a wrong one? What would your world be like if your Grandpa had decided to lift his head while fighting the Nazis in Europe during Word War Two, instead of staying low in his fox hole? What would your world be like if your mom thought your dad was a creep, and never had anything to do with him? Would you still be alive if your parents never met, just with another family, or would you not exist? What if your parents had decided to move (or not to move) houses when you were just a child? What would your life be like? 

I won’t lie, as my friend and I sat there, talking about how the decisions we’ll be making in the coming years are going to be instrumental to the success of us in the future, I got a little scared. I mean, life can go so many ways! I can make hundreds of great decisions that bear extremely good results, yet it only takes one bad decision to destroy all the benefits of the good ones. Another deep thought. A person can work their tail off all their life; get good grades in high school, excel in college, get a job they love, and marry the person of their dreams. All of that takes years to accomplish. Yet, it can take mere seconds to destroy it all. All it takes is one poorly timed turn at an intersection, one night of thinking your capable of driving drunk, or a little bit of carelessness at work and all of a sudden you’ve lost it all.

The scary thought of how easy it is to lose everything you have ever worked for and love in life leads right into the big idea behind this post. I’ve always heard this saying, but for whatever reason it never hit close to home until yesterday. While sitting in the same place my friend and I had gossiped (for three years) about football and school, and where we counseled each other after relationships had fallen through and tough games had been lost, I discovered the true meaning of the phrase, “life is precious.” Not only is life precious but so are the people in it. If your religious thank God for having your ancestors make the decisions they did, and for the people in your life. If your not religious take a moment to reflect on what your ancestors, and the people in your life have done for you, and simply thank them. Life could be so different, so be grateful for what you have today, and never stop striving for a better tomorrow.