GRATITUDE
An attitude of gratitude is not just a platitude. It’s amazing the feeling you get when you are truly reminded of the simple things you have to be grateful for, things like life, health, strength. Not lofty goals of grander, not riches or bliss, but truly the simple and essential. It can be truly earth shattering to be forced to a point of acknowledgment of these essentials. It is often said we don’t know what we have until we loose it. Just earlier today I was moved to within inches of such a point.
I was moved to this place on a drive back from Myrtle Beach SC, to Charleston. Today I worked in Myrtle Beach a little later than expected and found myself driving home in slight traffic. As I was nearing the clear or the end of the traffic the speed picked up on HWY 17 back to highway speed. The road cleared in front of me and I had not a worry or a care other than getting home. It was a long day at work and I was growing tired, tired of the day, tired of work, and tired of driving. I was swiftly loosing sight of the little things I had to be grateful for.
This was all changed in the instance a silver dodge ram pickup truck with an extended cab darted from my extreme right to my extreme left across three lanes of traffic, cutting me off. At this point continuing on the same course and speed we would meet a sure collision and possibly sudden death for many of us. Us being myself my coworker in the passenger seat who had forgotten his seatbelt, and the four people in the pickup truck. At this course we would have nearly “T-Boned” the Truck. There was a large Tractor Trailer approaching from behind on the right of us, which left me no choice but to swerve left through a narrow median and towards the oncoming traffic on the other side of the highway.
It was but for the Grace of God that I was able to make a sharp turn to the right and land in the ditch created by the median so as to not end up in oncoming traffic. The pickup truck stopped as soon as he saw me swerve out of our collision path. Once my vehicle stopped in the ditch the drive of the truck ran towards me apologizing and screaming that he didn’t see us and was sorry. I ended up being able to drive away from this experience having suffered no harm to me, my passenger, or my vehicle.
The rest of the trip home was one of quiet contemplation. I reflected on just how swiftly life can escape us. Six lives were almost ended in the blink of an eye, yet all were spared. In light of such events everything else seems to take on immensely less important. Life is not promised to us and in such we should be grateful for every fleeting minute. Especially those we can spend with the ones we love. Thank you and God’s Peace.
Auxilio ab alto By help from on high Br. Maurice D. Ravennah
This post hit’s very close to home for me, brother. I had a similar experience when I was driving back to summer camp two years ago and rolled my Rodeo at 4:30 in the morning on a stech of mountian highway. Like yourself, it was by the Grace of God that I wasn’t hurt. My car was a mess, but I was unscathed. Immediately after, sitting there at the wreck, life came into stark focus. If life can end to suddenly, so unexpectedly, what is it that should truly be dear to me? I’ve come to cherish that frightening experience, because looking back at it always helps me put my life back into spiritual perspective.
The Rule of St. Benedict says: “A monk should always have death before his eyes so that he will know humility.”
As nerve wracking as your experience was, I hope you can see it for the gift that it was.
God’s Peace my brother.