When I watched the sunrise during my morning jog, I realized something. A smile came to my face because I realized that I'm alive, healthy and it has officially been ten years since my near fatal car accident. With every stride that I made, I reflected on the experiences that I had in the hospital, the operations that kept me alive, the blood donations that kept life running through my veins and the healthcare team that brought me back to life and then helped me get back on my feet. I thought about the love from my family and friends, and the incredible support that I've received over the years. Ten years is a long time, but the memories feel so vivid as if it were only yesterday that I was still in room 19 of the ICU.
There is no way to turn back time, or look ahead in the future. However, sometimes I do wish that I could go back in time to change what happened on July 6, but I can't. If I was able to somehow predict the accident, would I have been in the accident at all? My mind gets overwhelmed thinking about all the what-if possibilities and scenarios. I often break out into a cold sweat just trying to imagine it because it's much more than a collision between two vehicles, it's dealing with life and the obstacles we face everyday. Confronting the negativity, interacting with the unexpected and doing our best to overcome adversity.
Accepting the fact that you can not change your past is not easy, but then again, life is rarely an easy pursuit. What about the pursuit of happiness? Well that comes from the result of dealing with the hand your dealt and never giving up until you succeed.
Nobody really knows what tomorrow will bring. Even after all that I have been through over the past ten years, I still do not have the slightest clue what is going to happen next. I can only wonder and hope that it is positive.
It can be very intense when you think about the future. When you get into a deep trance and wonder what is in store for you, your senses go wild. The tiny hairs on the back of your neck stick straight up in the air. Your palms sweat, and your mind races. Imagine the possibilities you have.
Seize the day. To live life to the fullest, and have no regrets is the best way to go about it at all I think. Do not take a single second for granted. Take the time out of your day to tell those close to you that you love them, smile more and frown less, show gratitude, do random acts of kindness for friends and for strangers, don't hold grudges, be thankful for what you have and the problems that you don't have, volunteer for a cause that you believe in, get out of your comfort zone every once in awhile and try something new, be positive and optimistic and go for a long walk to breathe life in. Make every step, every heart beat, every moment and every day count.
Why? You just never know what awaits you tomorrow, or even a week from now. The future is a second away, and the past is a second already passed. Life is mysteriously complex, and it will go on.
Over the past ten years I've learned that it's important to not only live, but to live a life that matters. A life that makes a positive and everlasting impact on those around you because as long as we are remembered, we never truly die.
How would you like to be remembered?