Life can change in the blink of an eye. One of our patients, a young woman of 23 with an 18-month old child, was in a terrible car accident. All I know at this point is that she has a closed head injury and possible severed spinal cord. I don't know if she will live or die or live with disabilities. I can't stop thinking about it, worrying about her.
In Buddhism it is often said that the span of our lives is like a dew drop on a leaf — beautiful, precious, and extremely short-lived. Life is remarkably unpredictable. None of us knows what life will bring. In any moment everything we take for granted can change. It is easy to become paralyzed with fear and to be honest I do struggle with this at times.
Obviously the better way is to keep our impermanence in back of our minds and live each day well. I am amazed at how much time I waste in this context, how easily I become focused on the mundane tasks that get me from yesterday to today to tomorrow. These chores need to be done in order for my life to function well, but the trick is to not let them become my reason for getting up in the morning like an automaton.
Is this some sort of an epiphany? No, I already know these things. Chelsey's accident just makes me think about it all over again.
2 comments:
So sad...
-Shirin
Nice to see you blogging about something deep that affected you personally. Not that your other stuff isn't great. I really love your blog. It's just that it's nice to get kind of a glimpse into something else, like your work. It is very sad...but it's also a learning moment for us all, and you have made it so.
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