I left Nashville yesterday morning where I have been working for the past four months. I’m on my way home to Denver so I was on 70West last nite on the phone(I have a wireless, no hands…don’t worry not holding a phone) when something smashed into my windshield. The windshield shattered and a fair amount of glass came into the car, but the windshield amazingly was still in tact. It was obviously a surprise; I screamed and had to figure out my next plan of attack. Of course, that’s when the light came on indicating I needed gas so I guess I was going to stop.
When I got out of the car I noticed feathers in the windshield wiper. Easy deduction, I was hit by a bird. I’m sure the bird didn’t survive, but fortunately I made it to Kansas City last night and I’m safe and sound. I scheduled for a company to come out and replace my windshield so my plans had to change. I’m spending an extra day in Kansas City delaying my arrival home a day. Right now I’m sitting in my hotel room waiting for the glass company to arrive between the hours of 12-5…are you thinking what I’m thinking?
After I got past the horror of the event last night I started thinking about the ramifications of having a Kamikaze bird hit my windshield, other than the obvious past that the bird died. Like so many of us that have been diagnosed with a chronic or life-altering illness this experience made me think fast. It required me to make an assessment, come up with a plan, and then execute that plan. I had to utilize the centering skills I have of deep breathing to get past the anxiety of something hitting the windshield with that much force. I knew I had to touch base with loved ones so they wouldn’t worry and I could get words of encouragement and love since I was traveling.
These are the things that you have to take into consideration when facing a health challenge. You’re obviously not going to be able to plan out everything that will take place during treatment. You’ll have to learn to become a bit more flexible in your planning. It will require you to always think about alternatives since you may have to change plans with very little time. You will need to develop a practice that will center you enough so you can make what may be important decisions with a clear mind. These are things I continuously work on and the practice seemed to pay off last night, even though it wasn’t related to my health (well I guess in some way it was…lol).
Today is a new day and I’m feeling good. As I wait for the glass company to arrive the only thing I can think is, “It could have been worse”. I feel blessed!
Pilgrim Pathway/Surviving Strong 