It was 4:15 pm on a Friday! From the view in his window office, the day seemed perfect. – Blue skies and no clouds in sight. After a long week, he was excited to head out early and hit the pub, the swanky joint down the street! That afternoon was extra special. It was a victory lap! The team had been through a particularly challenging quarter! Working there felt like a never-ending chase of one playing hard to get. He was stuck in the middle―advising others on how to spend the never-enough resource: Money! The business was backbreaking but also lucrative! Perhaps that is why he stayed in the grind for what seemed to be his entire life.

A fateful get-together

Later that afternoon, he and several others who stayed in the organization – long after many turned in their badges wanted to blow off steam! They agreed to do that amid chicken wings, beers, spirits, and crass jokes. This course was familiar to him. But he could never have anticipated what awaited him after his last gulp!

After a few hours, the get-together served its purpose: It allowed all to commiserate and cheer each other on. Right before 8 pm, feeling exhausted, the co-workers decided to call it a night. Many called an Uber for a ride, while some called their spouses by phone. But not him. Convinced he could hold his liquor, he decided to drive home. He lived nearby and wanted to get home in a jiffy!

Out of my way!

Once on the road, he quickly arrived on a sloping street a few blocks from his home. Soon after, he noticed amber lights, high-visibility vests, signs, flags, and cones. A road construction crew was at work, and he was frustrated by the traffic holdup!

Suddenly, he lost control and began driving on the shoulder: Like a car at an amusement park, his car swerved, veered onto another street, and he ran into a building. Determined to overtake the long line of vehicles, he reversed and returned to the shoulder. Once there, he sped until he came to an abrupt stop! But this time, what brought him to a breaking halt would also bring him to his knees. It was not concrete, a wheelbarrow, or a cone. It was a road worker. A person! As her life flashed before her eyes, a horrific nightmare rushed before his.

A matter of life and death

Immediately, someone called 911! Soon after, an ambulance and several police cars showed up. Next, a helicopter arrived at the scene and transported her to a nearby emergency department. At the hospital, all realized her injuries were beyond urgent! It was a Level 1 on the Emergency Severity Index! Swiftly, the medical staff did all they could―until they could do no more. Her heart stopped beating!

How could this be?
By pressing the fast-forward button on the remote control of his life, he pressed the stop button on hers. And this was not a mere stranger or a nobody. She was a daughter, a wife, a sister, a mother, an aunt, a friend, and more. She was a human being! It could have been me, and it could have been you. She could have been any of us, and any one of us could have been her.

The story of life

I heard this story from someone who worked in the organization – shortly after it happened. That night, I couldn’t help but imagine the extreme devastation and profound shock all who loved her felt.

Expectedly, the following day, the story was big news in the local media. Many lamented the reckless loss of life and condemned the driver for driving while intoxicated. However, this story is not about just him. The story is about her. It is about each of us and all of us.

The power of control

We know the power of a TV remote. With the push of a button, we satisfy our desires: Play. Rewind. Stop. However, we each walk around with a more potent remote control: Our mind. With it, we write scripts and then live them out. But unlike a television remote control, our minds do not have a rewind button.

We act but cannot control how others feel, respond, or react. Neither can we take back what we do or say – good or bad. Therefore, we must control ourselves: What we let into our minds, take into our bodies, do, or do not do. It always matters!

For you and to you,
Aké

Image credit: Pixabay