The little things

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Recently I had a stressful day. You are probably saying “Welll that’s me every day!” I feel you, dear friend. Life is hard.

This day was different though. By the end of it all I could say that I had had my first day of work, had been on my feet all day, had barely sat down or breathed the entire time. Anxiety was killing me, schedules overwhelming me, mask suffocating me, brain screaming at me about all the things I hadn’t done that needed to be done. Then again, that’s every day right?

A near head-on collision isn’t.

Sometimes, we get so caught up in the non-stop of life that we forget to appreciate life itself.

The moment was almost fleeting but hauntingly chilling. It was dark, and I was on a shuttle back from choir, chatting it up with a classmate about food, classes, the pieces we were singing...you know, just about the normal.

We were crossing a major intersection when someone drove out into the road with the intention of turning and came full speed towards us. The driver gasped, and it didn’t take a second for us to process. We subconsciously braced for impact, hands going up in the air, thrown towards faces. Hearts leaping. Heads down. Waiting.

Waiting for what? To be honest, I’m not sure. Maybe a sound, feeling, or scent; any sensory input that would allow us to understand the extent of the physical, mental, emotional, and material damage we readily expected.

Silence.

No sound of glass being crushed between twisted mounds of metal. No screeching. No screaming. Nothing.

We looked up. What seemed like inches, if not centimeters, remained between us and that car. But no one was moving.

The lady in the sedan turned around and went her way. And we kept going straight as if nothing had happened.

Sometimes, we get so caught up in the non-stop of life that we forget to appreciate life itself.

Our brains are amazing processing agents. Somehow, I was able to leave the shuttle without the reality of our experience setting in. I walked home, picked up food and chatted with the sweet man facilitating pick-up, met some friends, ate dinner with my suitemates. Then someone said ‘car’ over dinner. And it all came rushing back.

I thank God that our near-collision wasn’t a collision. I thank God that I can breathe and sing and stay on my feet all day. I thank Him that I can work and go to choir and come back home in one piece. I thank Him for the friends I met, the beautiful souls I live with, and the sweet man that helped me with my food pickup. I thank Him for the humans He placed in my life for me to confide in, walk with, work with, laugh with. I thank Him for life. As non-stop as it may feel, I wouldn’t - I couldn’t - trade this messy life for anything.

Friends, on the ‘stressful days,’ sometimes the best thing we can do is breathe and live moment by moment. It’s in appreciating the little things and savoring these moments that we can find joy in the time we have on this planet. Let’s not let life’s never-ending cycle distract us from the joy of life itself.

Joyfully yours,

Bel