The Cruelty of Randomness

What a great title, eh? Not my own I must admit. I pulled it out of this article in the New York Times magazine, The Other 0.1%. Read the article when you get a moment, it's short and sweet and pretty relatable. The author shares a story about an accident his toddler had in the back seat of their car while driving. He goes on to discuss the things you don't think will happen to you. Or maybe you're one of those people like his father, a defense lawyer, who walked around expecting those things to happen, in fear. The kid ends up being just fine, ending the article on a funny, practical note.

But what about those times they don't end up fine? Of course none of us want to think this way. And we know far too many stories that don't have happy endings.

This morning I was telling my husband about the second time I've been beeped at in a parking lot in the last week or so to hurry up as I'm putting Cub into the car. Now I am no slow poke. It's not like I'm moseying around, taking all the time in the world. I'm actually moving swiftly, already nervous that I'm holding people up. The first time this happened I ended up leaving my groceries on the sidewalk, fleeing the scene as fast as I could. This time, I was adamant about not leaving anything behind, but I was still nervous and jumpy until the nice lady behind me told me to stop worrying about the beeping guy and take my time, "he can wait." As I told the story my husband had the look on his face that said "haven't we been over this before? Safety first." And he's absolutely right. If I'm in such a hurry trying to please some impatient person, what if I forget to strap Cub in? What if I'm not watching where I'm going when I flee the scene and end up hitting someone else? And all the other "what ifs..."

Accidents do happen. We can't avoid them, but we can do everything in our power to try to avoid them. And yet, at the end of the day, we can't walk around in absolute fear either.

I remember when the DC Sniper attacks were happening. Around that time it seemed as if all hell was breaking loose across the nation. People were paralyzed with fear. They didn't even want to leave their homes. But in reality, bad things can also happen right inside our homes. So what are we to do? Stop breathing?

I guess it all boils down to that great B-word: Balance. Yes, be cautious. Yes, be wise. But, no, don't live in fear.

Besides, usually when I'm nervous about something happening I end up manifesting it! If Cub's sleeping and I'm trying my best not to wake him while putting away dishes, I end up dropping a dish as loud as can be!

What I'll take away from this NYT Magazine article is, chill out, but don't sleep (of course not literally)!