"Passing a semi truck on a blind hill qualifies as a wrong decision."
In western Oklahoma today, there was a tragic traffic accident. It started with a group of people from OKC attending a funeral. Coming back, one car driven by the 20ish year old boyfriend of an 18 year old girl (also in the car) and the girl's mom (another passenger) tried to pass a big truck on a blind hill. The car hit an oncoming car head on.
In the first car, mom was killed. Girl and boyfriend were eventually airlifted to a hospital in OKC. In the oncoming car, a four year old boy was the only survivor. Both parents and a sibling were killed. Four people died, two must recover from traumatic injuries, and one of those is likely facing four counts of manslaughter.
About a minute behind the wreck, another car is headed home. This one contains my nine year old nephew, #4 of 6, and his father, who is the brother of the mom killed in the first car. Brother arrives on scene before anyone else, and faces the raw carnage of his now deceased sister, three other traffic fatalities, two seriously injured people he knows well and a four year old boy. Thank God my nephew was kept away from the scene, and didn't see anything.
Another minute or two goes by and the mother and father of the mom in the first car, who had just buried his mother an hour before, arrive to find their now hysterical son, their now deceased daughter, their seriously injured grand daughter and boyfriend and a family that just lost three of its four members.
And the whole episode took less time to unfold that it took me to write the four previous paragraphs.
And the story is just beginning. The impact of this bad decision will last many, many years.
Unfortunately, the story is not all that unique. These things happen every day. Somewhere, someone makes a bad decision and the impact of that decision spreads outward in concentric circles like the tsunami caused by an earthquake, affecting the lives of many people for a very long time.
I have three thoughts tonight:
First, we have to stop living life carelessly. We have to realize that even seemingly small, insignificant decisions can have far reaching, catastrophic impact in our own lives and God knows how many others. Life throws us enough crap without inviting it through careless, stupid and wrong decisions. If these kinds of stories serve no other purpose, they should at least teach us to live life on purpose, take our steps intentionally and be aware of the potential impact of those decisions.
The universe is not limited to that which is within 18 inches of the end of our nose. We have to learn to live our lives in context of a physical world and a human race that we have been given, for better or worse, the power to affect by our decisions and actions.
Second, good decisions propagate positive impact in the same way that bad decisions cause negative impact. If we would learn live life on purpose, with a bias towards doing good, helping others and seeking and promoting that which is universally pure, good, right and true, we would experience the joy and honor of making a measurable, tangible difference in the world around us and in the lives of people we care about.
There is no down side to thinking this way. What in the world are we waiting for?
Third, I need a shower. I feel dirty, sorry for those affected by this tragedy, and helpless to make it better. God, I wish there was a ^Z (undo) button in life.