Never Too Late

Thank you for posting, lifestudent -- not only here but on the thread you mentioned as well. It is sad to see some people generating reasons for fear and sadder still to see how many others are deeply affected by them... As I wrote, in her last moment in this life Petra's eyes showed no fear, and I recall the look in her eyes and learned so much from her. My own efforts on the TU24 thread have been like yours: they've been aimed at trying to give balance to some of what has been said. If people makes statements that are patently false then I attempt to show the other side and hopefully with a reasonably calm and measured approach.

I am hopeful that many who have been or are now fearful because of what they think the asteroid might do, will soon be able to look back and review their feelings and will learn something. It's natural that we fear for our children and others we love, because we know there are times when we cannot protect them from everything, but this does not mean that we should live our own lives in fear of things that probably will not affect us at all.

All the same, I encourage people to follow their deepest instincts as none of us know what may affect another; sometimes our best protection lies in listening to our own inner voices and in taking note of the signs of nature around us.

Again, I thank you for your kindness.

Namaste,

Mike

reply to post by JustMike


Words are really beyond me at the moment as there really are no words to express what I feel for you and the mother and the whole incident right now. Im am so happy for you to be able to bring peace, a humble peace no less, to one that was most deserving of it. A light truly shines upon you in my humble opinion. I am sad you had to experience it, and Im guessing sometimes you wonder if you had only checked sooner, would the outcome be different.. Im guessing you have a beautiful guardian angel yourself now... These are the stories, I'd like to see in the news. These are the ones that Count.

star and flag, actually there are not enough stars and flags for this story...

reply to post by onehuman

I'm grateful for your words: they express a great deal more than the mere letters that comprise them.

Yes, I wonder often, but these days the pain in that wondering has lessened to the point where tears don't always flow, and the sense of guilt (or self-condemnation) has been replaced by a feeling of acceptance that some things are simply what they are.

What I'm trying to say is that I no longer ask "what if?" in the way I used to. There are endless "what ifs" in our lives every day, but most of the time we don't think of them because nothing bad happens that makes us start down that tortuous, questioning path. What if we'd looked left a moment sooner, what if we'd answered that phone the first time it rang, what if we'd left for work five minutes sooner or later, or caught the next bus and not that one? Because every day, we could have done things slightly differently and so could have everyone else on this planet. The complexities are endless, so why do we ask "what if?" when something happens that we didn't wish had occurred?

To paraphrase Arthur Ashe, the former Wimbledon champion, if we don't ask "why did this happen to me?" when good things happen, then why do we ask it when bad things happen? Especially if the odds of both are really the same -- which they are -- for as the possibilities are nearly infinite, then one outcome is just as likely as another. Granted, some could argue against that from a practical standpoint but I'd rather not go there. I'm looking at the philosophy of the whole thing.

The support I've received from you and other members reminds me that good hearts are everywhere, empathy is alive and well, and even the worst situation can have a positive lesson.

Thank you.

Mike

S & F!

Beautifully written. I guess I get to join the club, those of us who seldom shed a tear, and yet felt something...something wonderful really. Thank you for sharing your Petra with the rest of us Mike. Written over three years ago, which explains why I hadn't seen your story before, but very glad I did. A reminder to me about a perhaps "mystical" side of life that I don't always think about. But I will be thinking about it today.

JR

Justmike....I have always sensed we somehow had a bit of the same perspective on things. Now I know why.

I have been a volunteer firefighter/EMT for years and a support officer for one. I have held people as they passed from this world into the next and their families as they said goodbye. It is an experience that can not be explained. The one encounter as a support officer that was perhaps the most poignant was when I shared with a mother that her daughter had not suffered, and died in the arms of someone who cared. (it was a car accident and the caring person was another firefighter)

Your story is amazingly beautiful.

reply to post by JR MacBeth

Please forgive my late reply, JR Macbeth. Thank you for your thoughts. I actually read your post some time back but it was not a good time for me to write a reply right then. Now is better.

I recall an old saying they have here where I live that translates as "Everything bad is for something good," and it's a truism is ever there was one. Yes, sometimes it's not at a physical level, but the physical is only temporary anyway. It's the real level of Life (with a capital L), what is in some ways the mystical, that really matters.

Mike

reply to post by westcoast

Westcoast, I am not quite sure how to convey what I want to express. I understand what you mean, but I'm also trying to look further.

What I mean is this: I have two children. They're adults now and following their own paths, but like all parents I still think of them every day and wonder what they are doing. And like all parents I hold close to that hope that nothing happens to them. But above all, if something ever does, I pray that they won't be alone.

I just can't adequately explain it but I'm sure you know what I mean.

Mike

wow
...I do not have the words right now
thank you so much for posting this

reply to post by idunno12

Thank you... Sometimes, being lost for words can be a great blessing.

Namaste,

Mike

You sure have a way of pulling at the heart strings Mike! What a beautiful loving soul you are!

a reply to: Night Star
Thank you, Night! I am very happy to know that you were touched by it.

You can add my name to your list.

A few things that particularly touched me:

Yes, there was some fear, because in a way, posting about Petra and what happened meant letting go of a lot of things.

Somehow, I felt that way when the grass began to grow on my son's grave. It was like any evidence I had of him, no longer remained, while I watched it slowly happening. But we find later, that letting go is a mysterious thing that makes room for more mysteries to take their place.

I can tell you this: since that day, I have been far more careful when crossing railway lines, either on foot or in my car.

Two touches here. My sweet husband has saved my life at least twice, and in smaller ways, every day.

The first time was the day my previous husband moved out of the house. It was my idea. He had to go. But somehow, finding myself now alone, I realized, wrongfully, that there was nothing left for me in this world. I hated my past, I hated my now and I saw no useful tomorrow, so I gave myself permission to die.

I had it planned, quite matter-of-factly. I had plenty of tranquilizers left over from my son's death. I was going to finish the day's work, then go home and die...but the phone rang unexpectedly. It was an old neighbor from before we bought the house. I had taken her folk dancing once and she had a six year old daughter, Effie, who liked me and wanted to go dancing that Friday night. I gave my excuses and said no, but Effie's mother must have sensed something, even though she knew nothing of these current events. She replied, "I'm coming to pick you up. I'll be there in 20 minutes!" I swore under my breath, at this inconvenient interruption and then revised my plans to get dressed, go dancing, and then come home and die, as anything else would have involved Effie...

Now there were three folk dance groups in that city. They were a mixture of overlapping friends and some one-group-only rivals. My husband-to-be was the leader of one of the one-group-only ensembles. And when I walked into his rival's dance hall, there was my husband-to-be! He later told me that he had no idea what brought him there that night. But that night, we danced every dance together. Effie's mother smiled when it was time to leave, and told me that she had a feeling I wouldn't be needing a ride home...He walked me home that long walk that night, and the rest was not history but future.

The second time (sorry for thread drift) was in Yugoslavia, where we got on a late night train once and then realized we were on the wrong train. We got off at an odd non-station, waiting for anything on the tracks that was going in the opposite direction. When we saw a train approaching, I stepped onto the first tracks to get closer to what I thought was the train on the second tracks. And he grabbed me quickly and yanked me back, just as I felt the wind impact rush by my face. It wasn't the train I thought it was, and it was coming around a curve on the first track, and didn't stop, so in the pitch darkness, I hadn't calculated the trajectory properly.

Yes, there were no signals where she crossed the lines.

Something about that line...it describes every moment, where anything is possible.

Such is the world we live in, a world where some people literally do not care at all about others

(Smile) Yes, but...are we not reading this still, and being touched by it? These words are so true, but thank God, they are not the only truth...and this is why I love ATS so deeply.



PS. Effie was the flower girl at our wedding.

And now, I find myself hesitating to hit the button...I hope I am emphasizing your post and not deflecting from it...dang it all...if nothing else, I can get it up there again for others that may have missed it!