Figmentations

During the morning rush hour, I dread hitting traffic, especially if I’m running late.

More often than not, traffic seems to simply be rubbernecking, i.e., motorists trying to get a glimpse of some activity on the side of the road,  be it a traffic ticket being issued, or a car being hooked up to a tow truck, or the highly anticipated and more rare ambulance being loaded with a patient strapped to a gurney.  

Whenever the traffic delay is announced on the radio as being a car accident, I find myself wondering the same thoughts….

I wonder why the drivers weren’t more careful.  Didn’t they know that they were now causing everyone else to be late (not that it was their fault that I was running late to begin with)? 

Rubbernecking is the worst. I often think to myself: “Come on people. Move along. Nothing to see here. You’ve all seen fender-benders before.  If there was a body or any blood on the road, wouldn’t that just haunt you all day long any way? What good is seeing that going to do for you, other than give you an additional thing to gossip about later in the day?  Be careful or your distracted-driving is going to get you into an accident yourself.”

Other times, I find myself contemplating the word “accident” by itself.  The simple definition of: “not on purpose, i.e., not something that was intended.”

Naturally, that thought leads to the following questions:  “But could that mean it was fate?  Was that driver meant to be at that place at that time? instead of someone else? Or, was it just happenstance? Or, was that driver simply at the wrong place at the wrong time?  If he/she had left five minutes earlier or later, would the accident have been avoided, or would that driver have perhaps stumbled into something far worse?”

Personally, I believe that those are questions that we can only answer for ourselves.  Yet, it’s interesting to note that both a positive or negative spin can be put on almost all of those questions.

“Unintended occurrences” can be positive or negative. The word “accident” is defined as “an unfortunate mishap”.  That is quite the opposite from the word “serendipity” which is “the occurrence of fortunate discoveries by accident”.

On another note, we can ask:  If we are “on purpose”, are we making an active choice or are we being guided by a higher force?  Is “our purpose” something we were born to do, or something that we choose?  Will “our purpose” be revealed to us or will we need to seek it out?  In the end, the answer depends on what you believe in.

Either way, if you don’t believe in a higher guiding force, what harm is there in: “hoping for the best while planning for the worst.”  If you do believe in a higher guiding force, what harm is there in taking a little proactive action along the way as you keep yourself open to new opportunities.

Strangely, while it doesn’t matter what you believe in, it does matter what you believe.

What do you believe in?

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For a list of all posts in this series go to:  Finding Purpose  (actual links will be posted as each post becomes live.)