This week marks the 20th anniversary of the accident that changed my life forever. I wrote about the experience in a blog post in 2012, which you can read here. Everything I said in that post remains true, to this day. We are here for a reason and our experiences occur for a reason. As tragic and as painful as my incident was, I wouldn’t be who I am today without it – or any other experience that has occurred in my life.
Looking back on that day, twenty years later, my biggest accumulative takeaway is that we can overcome anything. Setbacks will happen, but we cannot be victims of our circumstances. I know it’s challenging to push forward when obstacles arise. I still struggle with the small, everyday inconveniences like being stuck in traffic or forgetting to pick up milk at the store. But, such is life. Right now, there’s a global pandemic with coronavirus (COVID-19), which is the cause of a myriad of setbacks - for all of us.
It’s hard to smile when inconveniences occur, but know that they are not going to break us.
My husband tells me that he loves my drive. I tend to think of it as a severe case of relentlessness, overzealousness, and stubbornness. But, his version sounds better. No matter what you call it, I know this quality has served me well in my life. There have been successes and failures, but I am still here. I get back up and keep going.
There’s no way to prepare for every possible thing that could happen. Instead, we have to be ready to embrace and overcome the obstacles as they occur, no matter how unexpected. We will be OK and we will come back from it.
“The miracle is not to fly in the air or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth.” – Chinese Proverb
Click here to read the story, ‘The Accident That Changed My Life Forever.’
