Life: It depends on how you look at it.

Q: What do the following things have in common?

An apparently silenced cell phone
A baby turtle scurrying across a four-lane highway
A paper cut from opening my first birthday card
Getting stopped by the slowest train in history

A: They’ve all been part of my Friday morning.

The baby turtle was motoring (as best it could) across River Watch Parkway as I was speeding on by, trying not to be late for work. It had made it ¾ of the way so far, but the opposing traffic lanes were looking bad for the kid from my point of view. I thought for a few minutes of how I think that scene parallels my life. Sometimes I feel like that turtle; just trying to make it to my goal on the other side without being flattened. I feel like I dodge traffic everyday. Sometimes I make it through but I do get smacked around and flattened regularly.

Maybe I’m trying for a goal at the wrong time. But when is the right time? Maybe I need to not go for it during the relative morning rush hour. But what if it always seems to be busy? Maybe I should wait for a quieter time and try when the road is less traveled and there are less obstacles. But what if I want it NOW? The ease of attainment might be greater a little later on, but the goal itself won’t be exactly the same then. It’s so worthwhile that almost any obstacle is worth traversing to reach it.

I’ve had paper cuts before, but never from opening a birthday card. It wasn’t a deep cut – there was no blood – but it hurt like heck and clearly left a mark. I’ve had my share of proverbial paper cuts in my life; some deeper than others.

Maybe that’s a sign that I’m moving too fast. Had I opened the envelope slower, I wouldn’t have cut myself. But who really thinks they’ll get cut until it actually happens? Maybe I’m using the wrong methods in life. If it’d used a letter opener, my finger would have never been in danger and the desired result would have been the same. But what if I don’t have life’s letter opener?

I’ve been stopped by trains before, too, but never one going this slow. Welcome back to downtown Augusta, I thought. Again, maybe I’m moving too fast in life and need to slow down. It did give me time to jot down this list of things that happened this morning, though.

I guess we all need time to pause and reflect on what’s going on around us. If we just keep going going going, how will we ever learn? How will we ever know what’s really happening if we just keep jumping from one thing to the next? Maybe the best thing that ever happened to you is standing right there smiling, and being all he can be, and you’re just not noticing. Maybe the one who truly cares for you, would climb the highest mountain, etc. is still right there but you haven’t noticed because you never stop. Maybe we should all just pause, take a step or two away from our lives, and really assess the situation.

Oh, and the thing that started it all, the ever-silenced cell phone. It’s a fixture in my life, to be sure, but this situation is so commonplace now that it doesn’t surprise me anymore. The only maybe I can think of here is maybe I shouldn’t care. But, I can’t help but care. That’s where my heart is.