In our day-to-day lives, we often forget just how fragile we are as human beings. We rush through every moment trying to get to the next, rarely paying attention to what we’ve left behind.
This past week, a family friend quietly passed away from
complications she’d endured after a freak accident. For the privacy of the family, I will only tell you this: One evening, she brushed past a grandfather clock in her entryway, a clock that
had been there for as long as I can remember, and the clock toppled on her. It sounds like the premise of a story
by Edgar Allen Poe, but it actually happened. I’m deeply saddened.
She was a beautiful person and there are not enough words in the world to describe her loss. It’s an absolute tragedy…
It’s easy to take life for granted. Tomorrow will be another day for me,
you may say. What you forget is
that no matter what your age or circumstances, tomorrow is not guaranteed. It can be taken from you in an instant. And in that same instant, you can be
taken away from the ones who love you—the people who assumed you would be with
them tomorrow, just like always.
Two social documentaries I’ve seen recently serve as
reminders of the fragility of human life.
Not everything can be avoided and accidents do indeed happen. However, the subject matter of both of
these films illustrates instances in which a tragedy could’ve been prevented if
everyone had just been paying full attention in the moment.
In From One Second To The Next Filmmaker Werner Herzog
painfully shows the dangers and the consequences caused by texting while
driving. At times, it’s immensely
difficult to watch, but it’s a short film with a very powerful message and I
highly recommend it.
The other film is Ghost Bike by Danny Gamboa and Kat
Jarvis. A ghost bike, by
definition, is “a roadside memorial placed where a cyclist was killed… as a reminder
to passing motorists to share the road.”
Perhaps, like me, you’ve occasionally seen these white “ghost bikes” at
the scene of a fatal collision. I first became aware of the film at last month’s Bike Week L.A. and felt that it was certainly worth a mention.
With our current fast-forward culture, it’s becoming harder
and harder to practice mindfulness.
I, too, struggle with this but I try to force myself to slow down,
unplug, and practice enjoying the moments of my life while I can. I won’t be here forever and neither
will any of you who may read this…
Life is a gift; make it count.
From One Second To The Next
http://www.wernerherzog.com
http://www.itcanwait.com
Ghost Bike
www.ghostbikefilm.com
www.zkofilms.com
Blog content Copyright © 2014 by Kendra Liedle
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