Sometimes things happen in such a way that it is difficult to see it as pure co incidents without a connecting idea behind. I am not very religious and I like facts and rational behaviour but last week a number of things happened in a short period of time and they all seemed connected to each other in a strange way.
A few weeks ago a group of civil servants from Region Skåne and Region West Sweden went to the US together with the Invest in Sweden agency. While there a terrible accident took place when a truck driver drove straight into the group while they were crossing a street. One person was killed instantly and a colleague of mine was severely injured. When I heard about it I obviously wanted to call her and see how she was doing but I knew she was still in hospital care in the US and when I later learned that she had been sent to a Swedish hospital I thought I would wait a while before contacting her. I knew family and close friends were by her side and I felt that she probably needed some rest.
Last week I wanted to call someone and I used my short- number- list on the phone. Somehow I got the wrong number and ended up by my colleague who is now at home but who will not be back at work for 6 months due to her injuries. We talked for some time and obviously a lot of the conversation was about the mental impact an accident like this has on you. You suddenly realize you mortality and questions arise about why did I survive when someone else didn’t. Priorities in life become clear and existential questions about the meaning of our existence her and now are popping up. I spent the rest of the day and night thinking about our conversation and decided to send her a book package, including a book called “Seeds for the soul” by Chuck Hillig. The next night I spoke to my dad as I needed some help with my tax declaration. He told me about his cousin who died recently while on a visit in the US. He was there as a representative for Region Skåne and was hit by a truck while passing a zebra crossing. Sweden has 9 million inhabitants and many of them go on business trips to the US. The fact that I within 24 hours was confronted about the destiny of two people who were both involved in the same accidents felt very strange.
I could not help thinking that maybe there is something in this that I am not seeing. I told Jochem and said;
- Does this mean anything? It almost feels as being told – life is precious so be careful with it. Or be aware of what you have.
Jochem was sure it was a message to the messenger (me) and that it meant; “Your husband should stop working right now” but after some deeper reflection he came to the conclusion that maybe, if one wants to find a message in this, it could be a very simple but important message.
Life is here and life is now so we have to live it, cherish it and enjoy it fully. No one knows what tomorrow holds.
I like to think that this is true and that despite all the unexpected bad things that happens in peoples lives most of the time we live in good times, in good lives surrounded by special people who make life worth living.
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