Feeling Lucky? 3 Life Lessons from the Near-Miss Moments

For as long as I’ve lived on this planet I can only recall about three, “Phew, THAT was close” moments. I’m not even positive they were brushes with death, but there would sure have been some unhappy aftermaths.

Once, a not-so-vital organ unexpectedly wanted out of my person; another I was riding in a Cadillac that got T-boned. The last time was that pesky SUV episode I wrote about. As I’ve settled down from that one and taken a moment or two to reflect, I’m seeing we can learn a lot from those near-miss moments, specifically:

Gratitude – almost getting really, really hurt or worse gives you a doctorate’s degree in gratitude. I wish we could maintain that sense of awe and appreciation all the time, but I am, uh, grateful for the opportunity to feel it to my toes. Thank you.

Assessment – For good or ill, those close-call moments cause us to pause and take stock of where we are. That near-miss in the Cadillac led to a host of major live changes in relationships, careers, and geography.

Realization – the survival of what we almost didn’t gives us a refresher course in this-is-it-ed-ness, as in, this IS it. This life of ours is the real deal. Not practice, not a dry run. Sometimes a reminder as to the brevity of our run around the planet gives us great perspective.

I’m not certain which of my proverbial nine lives I’m on, but I’m fortunate my guardian angels are hearty. I’m happy too that as I look over this life of mine I don’t see any wild dramatic shifts or moves on the horizon. I’m pretty darn close to where I want to be and quite happy to be here. Sometimes life arranges a reminder to show us how lucky we really are.