August 2, 2020
Yesterday I wrote a piece on grit. Grit is something we all need, certainly in the time of a pandemic but also when dealing with everyday life. On Friday I was in an auto accident in which I was uninjured.
The accident, as many do, came out of nowhere and since the driver of the other vehicle ran a red light. I did not realize what was happening until impact. Then in some sort of slow motion recall I remember being thrust around and my car spun in a 360. It was now facing the direction I had come from and still running. I shut the car off and after a quick assessment of my physical self I began looking for my phone. My cell phone had been catapulted during the accident and eventually found a resting place under the passenger seat.
It occurs to me now this insane obsession to our phones as I had little concern for the other human in this situation, but rather the determination to locate the cellular device that links me to...what? I glanced a the other car a few times and saw movement. Before I could even exit my car a pedestrian asked me if I was OK? I answered yes and he returned with, "well not in the long run" referring to the upcoming hassles of dealing with everything related to being involved in an accident (Police, insurance, cost, loss, etc.).
After finding my phone I immediately called Maren then walked over to the other vehicle to find no one there. The accident occurred at the intersection of Hudson and Colfax where a Circle K gas station sits on the northwest corner. Many folks were standing around and saw the driver of the other car run away.
The fire department rescue truck showed up within minutes and asked me a few questions to help determine my current mental condition . Who am I, where am I, what day it was, who is the president? Who is the president? Is that a standard question for accident/concussion protocol? I remember making a face and saying "Trump" with some chagrin. Thirty-seven minutes later the police showed up in the form of a civilian crash investigation van. Garry, the officer, then had me fill out an accident form describing my account of what happened. He spoke to one witness John who was nice enough to hang around and speak to the officer. He ordered a tow for the other car as we called our insurance company to arrange for the pick-up of my 2005 Jeep Wrangler which now looked like this.
The other vehicle had Utah plates and when he did some investigation found out it was stolen out of Castle Rock, CO. So it would make sense I suppose for the driver to run away.
I can only imagine he had a myriad of problems the first of which he was driving a stolen car.
After getting all my personal belongings from the Jeep and finishing up with Garry. The Jeep was towed away and we went home. I took a long nap and then did some thinking about mortality, fate and the universe. I was on my way to meet Jim Ajemian for coffee and the phone app told me to turn onto 14th avenue one block before the intersection of the accident. I found that odd so decided to go straight. Straight into destiny? Was the app giving me a clue? Was that the universe speaking to me? God? After traumatic events, especially ones in which fatalities occur, we often ponder the mysteries of life. The whys and hows of our fleeting lives.
This thinking can often be morbid as we wonder the what ifs or possible alternate endings to the moment. It made me think how suddenly things happen and how in any second you could lose much of what we take for granted including the most precious of all, our very existence.
It made me think of the control we have or maybe don't have when it comes to these moments.
I have always been a believer in the philosophy that says we can guide or lives and manifest our dreams into reality with positive thinking and sustained focus. But what of these occasions when tragedy strikes? We surely are not manifesting these moments. Could we be manifesting the avoidance of the fatality that could have occurred? Could we, by having hopes and schemes and plans and dreams, be solidifying our place on earth for the purposes of reaching those aspirations? Then what of the dreamers who left too soon? Or was it their destiny to be cut short of time for the rest of us to learn from?
For a number of years now I have been leaning towards an existential view of life. The existentialist believes in freedom of choice and development of the individual's purpose of life through the rational actions in an irrational world. Not governed by laws of nature. We can make life be what we want it to be. "I think therefore I am" the words of philosopher René Descartes are unique to existential thinking. They ought not be unique to all of us as we navigate this journey we call life. Think and be. Believe and become. Our mind tapping into the powers of universe can guide us to places we want to be or not be. How critical are those little moments when we go "left" instead of "right"? Only we can decide if we are truly masters of our own fate. Or can we?
Before Storm- A Painting by Inna Montano
No comments:
Post a Comment