The other morning, I headed off to work at 7.15am. I was basically sleep-walking as I headed for the bus in the wind and rain, feeling sorry for myself and being generally miserable. It was after all, a Monday so being miserable was allowed in my book and so, I pottered on.
Flash forward to 7.25am and there I am getting the fright of my life as I walk out in front of a moving car – the driver not having seen me and clearly, me not having remembered the safe cross code I had learned so many years before. 40 minutes after my alarm had gone off – I had woken up.
Chatting to my boyfriend about it later, I spoke about what could’ve been – serious injury or even the end of my Monday mornings forever more. Surely, that could never happen to me? Actually, surely, it could happen to anyone.
As we go about our day to day lives, we forget that we’re so fragile and within seconds, it can all change.
Just this morning, I posted on my social media about how our family pet Delilah had to be put to sleep. She had been suffering and so, the kind thing was to end her life. 12 years of running around our yard and jumping in the sea are now only memories to be remembered by my family. She was a presence I didn’t think of going anywhere.
Sometimes, reality bites hard however those little tough events are the ones we can utilise to make sense of what’s important. Lost someone (or something) you love? Cherish those around you even more. Have a brush with a car? Be more mindful of what’s going on around you. And as for the rest? Pretty please, just enjoy it.
Two pieces of advice I received in the past week are “Appreciate what you have” and “Will what you’re worrying about matter in six months from now?”. Both work as defaults for a variety of situations. Try them for yourselves and let me know how they go.