2021
I didn't know it at the time, but this was the beginning of the year I didn't die after all.
Covering two of my dining room walls with memories was just because they made me smile.
Before the end of summer, the other two walls were covered in pictures of family and friends.
Some praying for my recovery, some I didn't think I'd ever get to see again, and some I hoped I would get to see again when I died.
This was the year my "first kiss" died of Covid before I could tell him I was going to live.
But I was able to tell my mom I was going to live... before she died a week later.
You learn a lot about what is really important when you don't think you have any time left to waste.
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On Labor Day weekend 2001, I was in the restaurant at the top of the North WTC Tower, looking down at taxi cabs the size of ants. I still have the picture I took of that view, but I can't look at it anymore.
On 9/11, I was in an airplane flying to Pennsylvania for a business trip in New Jersey.
My flight was grounded in Atlanta, and all flights were cancelled before I even knew what was happening. I rented a car to drive home, and was on the road just minutes before the airport was locked down for more than 24 hours.
You can waste your life thinking "What if they had hit the weekend before?" "What if I'd stayed in Panama City with Dad when they divorced?" "What if I'd said yes to going to Colorado?" "What if I'd made different choices... said no... said yes... left sooner... left later...?"
But the truth of the matter is this.
You are right where you are supposed to be.
Every choice you made, right or wrong, made you who you are right now in this moment in time.
And this moment in time is all we ever get.
There are no guarantees that we will see the sunrise tomorrow.
So, make today's sunrise count.
Make this moment matter.
If not for you, then make it matter for the ones you care about.
As much as you possibly can ... be at peace.
Be happy.
Ci💚
If we could change the past, we'd probably just mess up worse.
ReplyDeleteand with regards to the dumpster fire here in the US ... some don't even learn from the past ...
DeleteWhat a post.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts just flew back too. That very day I was at a press workshop organised by the Max Planck Society in Munich on the subject of ... ‘Black holes’.
And yes, right you are.
As there are no guarantees I shall see tomorrow's sunrise,
I do wish the peace of the night.
Ich wünsche dir auch eine ruhige Nacht und dass du den Sonnenaufgang von morgen siehst.
DeleteKomischer Gedanke ... als es all das Drama um das Jahr-2000-Problem und den Maya-Kalender gab, der das Ende der Welt für 2012 vorhersagte, und die Ängste vor dem Weltuntergang, habe ich mir nie wirklich Sorgen darüber gemacht, denn egal, welcher Tag oder welche Uhrzeit es für mich war, in Australien war es immer „morgen“. Die Leute müssen also nicht befürchten, dass morgen nicht kommt, denn irgendwo auf dem Planeten ist es bereits da.
I wish you also the peace of the night, and that you see tomorrow's sunrise.
Funny thought ... when there was all the drama about Y2K and the Mayan calendar predicting the end of the world in 2012, and the fears of the world ending, I never really worried about it because no matter what day or time it was for me, it was always "tomorrow" in Australia. So, people have nothing to fear about tomorrow not coming, because it already has somewhere on the planet.