Don’t Wait to Get Hit by a Bus

Two months ago my eldest daughter came within inches of being hit by a bus. The pedestrian crossing light turned green, so she stepped into the road. At that some moment, a bus driver ran a red light. She felt a forceful blast of air hit her skin as the bus ploughed past, before she reeled away in shock.

Thankfully, she reeled backwards, not forwards.

She arrived home visibly shaken and upset with herself for not looking both ways.

It wasn’t her fault, as the light had changed and any vehicles should have already come to a complete stop.

But it wouldn’t have mattered whose fault it was if she had been hit by that bus and had not come home to tell me the story.

After lots of cuddles and reassurance, she calmed down.

I haven’t noticed any lingering anguish or other adverse effects of the event. If anything, there has been the positive lesson of her being more safety-conscious. For her, it was merely a valuable lesson in being more vigilant. But for me, it was reminder to live in the moment.

In 2006, I had my own experience of nearly being hit by a bus. Like my daughter, I stepped into the road. Except in my case, I hadn’t been paying attention. I paid attention to the pedestrians on the other side of the road, but not the traffic lights. As they stepped into the road, so did I, only to come even closer to being hit by a bus than my eldest.

I realized how lucky I’d been, but again, like my daughter, I merely became more safety-conscious. It didn’t, otherwise, have an effect on me.

Fast forward to December 2014, when I nearly died.

I visited my local hospital with severe chest pains. They did a CT scan and discovered I had a blood clot in each lung. One medium and one large. The doctor told me I was lucky to be alive as only 50% of the people with only one blood clot the size of my smaller one survive.

That was the day I got hit by a bus.

That was the day I faced my mortality in earnest.

That was the day I began to appreciate how precious life can be.

That was the day I began to live in the moment.

I was lucky. I walked away alive. Granted, I did walk away with many questions for the universe–not the least of which were questions around my life purpose. But I knew I was still alive for a reason, even if I didn’t yet know or understand the reason.

I’ve always been a glass half-full kind of gal, but I haven’t always appreciated the individual moments of my life–particularly if they were painful or boring.

From that day forward, I made a concerted effort to be more present in the moment.

Because the present is all we have.

Life can turn on a dime. People get hit buy buses every day. Some survive and some don’t. I wish I hadn’t waited to get hit by a bus before appreciating each precious moment of my life.

If you don’t yet live in the moment, I hope you will start soon.

Don’t do what I did. Don’t wait to get hit by a bus.