Hey, Alex!
Life is good and goodness is life, but if you’ve been alive for more than 5 seconds (and I know you have) then you also know that life is painful too. Our difficulty in understanding life is the idea that life is good, but pain is present nonetheless. Why is that? For you, this is a reminder, but for everyone listening let me tell you about a few of my scars to illustrate.
When I was younger, I was driving a four wheeler out in a field in the country. First time driving a vehicle like that and I wanted to drive it as fast as I could. There’s something about feeling the wind rush around you and seeing the landscape run swiftly underneath. I drove up a hill and made a sharp turn to come about and I ran out of room right when the barbed wire fence came quick and nearly clotheslined me! I bounced off the post, but the four wheeler drove right through the fence. It hurt, you know, but I’m willing to take the blame for that one. The issue is that even though life is good, it doesn’t keep me from making bad decisions or even just mistakes. If you think about it, even if you’re bowling in the bumper lane, the ball can still miss. In the same way, your choices can’t always guarantee your safety, especially when you make wrong ones.
Another example: I was doing some demolition in a house one time working with some friends and as I kneel down to pick up some debris, my good buddy walked right past me and accidentally bumped me with a heavy bucket of broken up concrete. It knocked a couple of ribs out of alignment and I had to go to the chiropractor once a week to get them popped back into place until they stayed put. That’s another thing; one of the dangers of living life with other people is that accidents happen. We can’t wrap ourselves in bubble wrap and go out into the real world. If we can’t protect ourselves from our own mistakes, then how can we expect protection against the mistakes of others? And there is another point.
Once, I was working with a drill press while I was wearing protective gloves and as soon as my hand got near the bit, the glove got caught and the drill reeled me into its fast grip. Luckily, I had the presence of mind to use my free hand to turn the machine off and pull my other hand out, but the drill skinned me pretty good. The lesson here is to operate power tools barehanded; don’t use gloves with power tools. There are some things you can control, but even when you try to protect yourself you can still get hurt. You can be as safe as you could possibly be and still get hurt.
So, if you want my advice, live life to the fullest and don’t be afraid of your mistakes; try to be careful and befriend others who do the same. Pain is a part of the process no matter what you do, so aim high, patch yourself up, clean your friends’ wounds, and you’ve already made the world a better place.
Alex, we’ll talk on Tuesday!
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