There are no coincidences.

I had the scariest thing happen to me over last weekend.

Let's just say two things happened to me in the same place and same time within 2 days of each other involving the same type of vehicle.

If ever I doubted God, I now don't question His existence at all.

There is no way that I and approximately 40 others could have all survived two accidents in the same place at the same time within two days of each other without any sort of heavenly interference. There was a whole lot surrounding the circumstances, but we all made it out, and most of our stuff was able to be salvaged. I have absolutely no damaged or lost possessions, thank God.

And guess which song automatically popped into my head at each scene of crisis and continually pops into my head whenever I think about it?

"Details in the Fabric" by Jason Mraz.


Calm down, deep breaths
And get yourself dressed instead
Of running around and pulling at your threads
And breaking yourself up
If it's a broken part, replace it
If it's a broken arm, then brace it
If it's a broken heart, then face it
And hold your own, know your name, go your own way
And everything will be fine
Hang on, help is on the way
Stay strong, I'm doing everything
Are the details in the fabric
All the things that make you panic
Are your thoughts results of static cling?
Are there things that make you blow?
Hell, no reason, go on and scream
If you're shocked it's just the fault of faulty manufacturing.
Everything will be fine, everything in no time at all
Hearts will hold.

And I'm really not just trying to be corny here or anything. That song is something to live by.

Viva la Mraz.

When life throws you a curveball, it's probably because you're at bat...

We all make mistakes, right?
So when we make a mistake, we tend to freak out a little, fix it, and move past it.
When others make mistakes, we tend to freak out a little, be mad for a few minutes, help fix it, and move past it.
Or so I wish.
While some simply win at life and have this kind of attitude, and while about a sixteenth as much as those people are saints and don't even freak out or get mad, most of us get seriously stressed when we or others make mistakes. If we make a mistake, we act like the world is ending and nothing's ever going to be right again... and then, what do you know, the next day does arrive.
And yet we learn nothing.
My favorite is when someone else makes a mistake and we mumble and grumble and yell at them all while doing the regular oh-no-it's-a-mistake routine; because then, it's not our fault, so the one happy notion we get out of this mistake is that we aren't the ones who did it. The only problem is, the fact that they did the mistake while life was SUPPOSED to be going on perfectly makes us twice as stressed out, so the joy of blaming another kind of dies.
To stay sane, here's something I preach and am learning to practice: just freaking DEAL.
I mean, really.
It's just a mistake.
See, I thought of (what I think, anyway, is) a pretty good illustration of mistakes: baseball.
People often refer to unexpected things as curveballs, right? So think of it like this:
You're at bat, bottom of the ninth, tied with two runs, bases loaded. From what you know about the pitcher, he only throws scary fastballs. You eat scary fastballs for breakfast. You're ready to hit a fastball when you notice that he's throwing a curveball! What the hell?! You don't do curveballs! What are you supposed to do?! He's not supposed to throw it! THIS IS NOT PART OF THE PLAN!
But WAIT--what's that you're holding? A... a bat? No way! And that's a ball! So you'll HIT IT! Oh wait--it's not even going to end up in the strike zone. "BALL!"
See? Crisis averted. You end up hitting a frickin' legendary grand slam on the next pitch, winning 6-2. It is allll good.
Now, let's pretend you're the coach, keeping an eye on your prize hitter when suddenly the pitcher turns and lobs a curveball at your head!
THAT, my friend, would be an issue. Not to mention the first time in baseball history that the pitcher got confused and thought the coach was going to somehow play, but whatever.
What I was trying to say throughout that whole weird baseball analogy is that even though you have your expectations about life, it's going to throw you things you didn't see coming. Thing is, it's still in the norm; just because it's different doesn't mean it's not life. (Just like it's still normal for the pitcher to throw the ball; just because he deviated from his usual plan doesn't mean you can't bat anymore.) These things are supposed to happen, and we're supposed to deal with them.
If life were just as we expected, it would be boooringgg.
So next time a mistake is made, try to just kinda face it...

If it's a broken part, replace it
If it's a broken arm, then brace it
If it's a broken heart, then face it

Well said, Jason. Well said.

Selfish?

When someone dies, do people mourn because they truly feel a loss, or because
they're afraid that the death was in part their fault and don't want it to stay on their
conscience?

I stumbled across this last night as part of a young girl's confession, and it has a sort of truth. What not everyone realizes is that nearly every emotion we feel is out of selfishness; this is why they are our emotions and not anyone else's. While we can act out of selflessness, we're not going to feel good about it.
True, there are those who take a sick pleasure in death. There are those who feel accomplished when avenging someone through death, or those who thrive off of reporting others’ deaths. However, the chief concern with a death that is not our own is the grief that settles in afterward.
In fact, in the case of death, mourning is only and always selfish. If you're sad that a person's gone, it is because you are missing them; not because you're sad that they no longer can enjoy life.
Not to say that this is a bad thing. If the point of life in the physical world was to be entirely selfless, then those you were sacrificing your own happiness for would be acting selfishly to accept your selfless offer.
A common misconception is that people are selfless when it comes to love; they say, “If they’re happy, I’m happy.” The second half of this statement is most important, however. “I’m happy.” In the end, you feel joy from your significant other’s happiness.
The word “selfish” has gained such a negative connotation. At most times, true, it does not denote something positive, but it’s the word that most describes human behavior—we’re all selfish. We all want what makes us happy, because being happy is the epitome of our existence.
While we shouldn't be piggishly selfish, we're put on this earth to serve God and be happy. So it's okay to mourn the loss of a loved one; it's okay to take that day for yourself. Although I definitely can’t say I know the meaning of life, I can say that life is enjoyed when happy; and the reason why we’re happy is because, ultimately, we’re selfish.

So here I am.

It's 1:45 in the morning, and I'm up because... well, because I feel like it. =)
I had some work to do, but now I'd just rather chill. I feel like time is too short. I wish I didn't have to sleep. I could do so much without sleep; read those books, write that music, listen to those artists.
But no; God created our days so that we have to spend some of it resting.
Not that I mind too much. I like resting. Sleep is truly wonderful.
I just feel that I could live my life to the fullest if I didn't.

~~~~

So this is my first post.
Who am I? I know my own name; that much is enough.
Where am I? Location hardly matters.
What am I doing here? Same as you people. =)
How old am I? Let's not go there. ;)

~~~~

As Jason Mraz said:

If it's a broken part, replace it
If it's a broken arm, then brace it
If it's a broken heart, then face it.
And hold your own, know your name, and go your own way.
And everything will be fine.

(Details in the Fabric)

Lesson for life. ♥