One life, One chance- Be Thankful

No matter how good or bad your life is, wake up each morning and be thankful that you still have one. I can’t even bear the thought process I went through last Wednesday morning at approximately 8:40am. Sitting on my regular morning bus, minding my own business and listening to the bounce of Will Sparks. Traffic was bad; we were moving extremely slow- but I thought nothing of it. Beijing traffic is horrendous, especially in the mornings. However, you can’t always assume things, as much as you would like to. As the bus approached a busy intersection, three stops away from where I get off, everyone suddenly got off his or her chairs and walked to the left side of the bus. As I stood and leaned over to the left, my eyes witnessed a very gruesome image that could never be wiped away.

A young woman’s body lay in the middle of the road, smeared in blood with crushed limbs, she wasn’t moving, she was dead. Her bicycle was crushed under an extremely large truck that had attempted to turn the corner but had obviously missed and crushed her. Car’s were everywhere, blocking the road, tooting and not moving at all. To make the situation even worse, passers-by did nothing but formed a circle around this woman while getting out their smart phones to take photos- absolutely disgusting. WHERE IS HUMANITY? This made me so angry and extremely upset. NOBODY CARED, everyone was so focussed on getting the right angle to upload pictures to WeChat, one of the most active social media platforms in asia. THERE IS NO NEED FOR IT. I had to sit down straight away and place the palms of my hands on my face to cover my eyes. The image was scarring. The people of Beijing made me so so frustrated, very self-centred people.

My thoughts are with this woman every day as I pass the same intersection on my morning bus. The images flashback in my mind every single time I listen to ‘When the lights go out’- Will Sparks. The song creeps me out and reminds me of that very incident.

I have never seen anything like this before, human remains crushed with blood everywhere. On an empty stomach, it made me feel so sick for the rest of the day. I had completely lost my appetite, no breakfast, no coffee, no lunch, just water. I was in shock for almost two days. I couldn’t stop seeing these images and my sleeping was terrible for the couple of nights after.

To have my high school best friend hit by a car only weeks ago brought back the emotions. From seeing this incident, it made me picture what it would have looked like for my best friend, it was horrible. I couldn’t control myself; I was shaken. I had work from 9am-6pm this day, and I looked as pale as anything- no matter how much makeup was reapplied. I didn’t talk to anyone at work, I literally sat at my desk the entire day just thinking and watching the images flashback over and over again.

This situation has definitely made me realize how precious life really is. No matter what path of life you’re on, always be cautious of not only yourself, but of others. Don’t be self-centred, and don’t let social media control your life. Not everything must be shared; some things need to be kept personal. Make the most of what you have, be grateful and thankful for the things you receive and the people around you. GIVE MORE than you receive, don’t be greedy with happiness. Share the love, the moments and the memories with others and cherish your love ones each and every day. PRAY for your happiness and the life you live today- AMEN.

#thankful