Reality Check

I had quite a reality check this weekend, one that phased me more than it might phase others, but I feel impacted none the less. *Warning, this is sad/sobering so don't read if you aren't up for it, I just had to get it out somewhere*

We had a really great weekend this weekend, one of those jam packed, fun filled beginning of summer weekends that you know you will always remember, but there was something that also happened that will stick with me for a while I think. While we were out and about driving just North of the city, the clouds loomed over us and the rain (which the weatherman had been predicting all week) started to pour down. Cautious drivers tapped their brakes while obnoxious drivers sped up and continued to swerve in and out of traffic. In the blink of an eye, in the distance, we saw a glimpse of metal, spinning, above the road, out of place, where it shouldn’t be and saw an object fly through the air. As Chris put the brakes on and we closed upon the scene I tried to convince my eyes that I wasn’t seeing what I was seeing. An overturned motorcycle. Scraps of debris. A busted open saddlebag. And a man. A man lying lifeless with his head wedged underneath the guardrail.

As my heart quickened the trained first responder in me wanted to stop, to pull over, to help. The realist in me knew it was probably too late. The panicked person buried deep within didn’t know what to do. Since it was too difficult for us to get over to the side of the road in time, I struggled to do something, anything, to help. I called 911 and relayed the scene to the State Patrol, they thanked me and we disconnected. My thoughts went to the man that I saw… and other flashes came to mind… his wife as she is told of the news… his kids and their faces. All the while the optimist in me, the hopeful soul kept hoping, wishing and praying that the paramedics would breathe more life into his body.

So many times you pass accidents in the street and realize that people’s lives just changed in an instant. But you never hear there stories and you never find out what happened. The press doesn’t cover these things all the time, perhaps because they are too distracted by everything else in the world, or perhaps the sobering reality of how fragile life is something that even the press can’t exploit. I have no idea what happened to that man.

For me, it was a true reality check, a reminder that whatever I may be going through right now and whatever struggles I may be having, or might have in the future, that I am still here. I am still alive. So embrace that life, don’t get distracted by negative energy around me, don’t let the little things bother me, focus on the bigger picture, remember the family that loves me, the friends that I do have and cherish all the other great things that make my life wonderful.