Day 3 - 39 -- In an instant

Here we sit in the midst of yet another major nor'easter and there are many midterm exams to be held this week. I have one tomorrow and one Wednesday. It will depend on how much snow and how quickly clearing can occur on  campus, whether the one will go forward tomorrow. Wednesday is likely to be a go, but there are no guarantees.  That is much like life in general, isn't it? No promises, no guarantees, no clearly laid out plan. We as humans carry on by making plans for later today, tomorrow, next week, two months from today or even a year or more from now. We do this knowing that unexpected events might intervene forcing us to move our plans to a later time or cancel them altogether. While I do know this, I still find it unsettling the way life throws you a curve ball. It looks like it is heading straight for you and everything is moving along well and at the last nanosecond it veers off course -- that's when you can find yourself wondering what the heck happened. Sadly, we often choose to take the blame or lay the blame for such changed plans when no guilt is present no matter how hard we look. This is when we can realize how tenuous life can be and that there are no controls within our grasp. The world around us can change in an instant. How we choose to cope with altered plans and situations is what can define us as successful in this life.

A line from a song came to mind today. The lyrics are from a parent to a child, trying to impart the wisdom of living this life we are given. I've always loved this song and the singer-songwriter is one of my all time favourites -- a poet, philosopher, & advocate -- and one whose life changed in an instant one cold December day. Enjoy!

Beautiful Boy -- John Lennon