Shattered Window

Yesterday evening as I was driving home from work a stone hit my side window and completely shattered it. The stone came from a guy cutting the grass by the roadside.

I would like to focus on the bright side: first, imagine what would have happened if the window had been open, and the stone were to hit my head. Second, replacing the window cost a lot less than what I thought it would.

This incident forced me to put into practice what I’ve been thinking about these past few days: how a lot of things are beyond our control, and so we might as channel our energy on those few things actually within our control.

In my case, I couldn’t turn back time and take another route. The car window is broken and I have to face it. I could react by being frustrated about it, or I could respond by taking it in stride. I chose the latter.

It was the right choice but it certainly wasn’t easy. I had to struggle to keep negativity from taking over. I refused to entertain any what-if thoughts. I thought of people losing their eyesight, their limbs, their loved ones; they would consider what happened to me to be absolutely nothing. Then it occurred to me - why should I tie my happiness to a car window in the first place? Should a stone and a piece of glass dictate my emotional well-being?

Note: you may skip the following paragraph if you don’t believe in God and the Day of Judgment.

So after thinking long and hard about the things that matter in my life, I came to the conclusion that what is most important is my relationship with God at the current moment.

Happiness is hard work!

11 October 2007 | Uncategorized | Comments