The POWER of being present.

I was not physically hurt. My dog is fine. My car is unharmed.

I was almost in a terrible accident and I’m turning it into a lesson in being present.

It makes me sick to think about what could have been, because someone was in a hurry. Someone was being careless. Someone was late. Someone was distracted. Someone was sad. Someone was impaired. Someone was in whatever state they were in, for whatever reason they were in it.

The accident would not have been my fault. A car blasted through a red light and turned in front of moving traffic.

I was not texting. I was not taking a drink of my coffee. I was not changing the radio. I was not singing. I had both hands on the wheel. I was hovering the brake. I had my eyes in front of me. I was not distracted. I was not tired. I was present. Thank God I was present.

A car pulled out in front of me to turn left. Right in front of me. I had no periphery of it as I was nearly through the intersection. I slammed on my brakes and veered right. I missed it by the tiniest of margins. The car went on its way. I watched it in my rearview mirror with my leg shaking to hit the gas. There was a van behind me. I put my head in my hand as we approached the stoplight ahead. I turned to check on my sweet pup that was along for the ride to take his best buddy to school.

First, I was angry at the car. How could they? What would possess them to do that? Did they know how much harm they could have done? Did they care? Was their leg shaking, too? Or were they laughing? Who were they?

Then I was thankful. Thankful for all the work I’ve done on myself to be present and peaceful. Thankful my boy was safely dropped off at school. Thankful that sirens weren’t blaring to come and help us. Thankful that I wasn’t trying to frantically call my husband and tell him to leave the office now. Thankful I didn’t have to call my parents to pick up Ames from school because we were going to the hospital.

As I pulled safely into the driveway for a day of working from home, a different feeling hit me. I needed to breathe. I got out of the car and felt more than just my leg shake. I felt numb. I opened the back to let Ceno out. He glued himself to my leg and held me up for a huge hug. We were ok.

I felt a sense of guilt for not shaking it off and moving on with my day. I was fine. Everything was ok. We were home. But the gold car kept flashing before my eyes. My brain was processing. My body was rebounding. My dogs knew. The three of them tolerated sharing space like they never have before. I needed them.

Then I realized I needed to share my heart. This is not about me being ok. This is not about me avoiding a horrible accident. This is about being present and bettering ourselves and each other.

Our world is fast. Our lives are short. Times are trying. Challenges surround us. We’re all human. We need to slow down. Be intentional. Give ourselves grace. Rise up. Lift each other.

Do better. Be better. Teach your kids better. We’re all in this together.

Never stop working on yourself.

Never doubt your growth.

Never underestimate working on your mind.