What Surviving a Car Accident Taught Me About Life ☀️

 GOOD MORNING, AFTERNOON OR EVENING!!!  

I hope this blog finds you all well!!! Living your best life of course.. 😉😉

As many of you may know... Eleven years ago, my life changed in a matter of seconds.

I was in a car accident.

At the time, I was 19 years old. I don't think you can ever truly understand how fragile life is until you're suddenly faced with the possibility of losing it.

I survived.

But surviving wasn't the end of the story.

In many ways, it was the beginning of a completely different one.

For years, I've thought about what that accident taught me about life. And if there's one thing I understand more than anything now, it's this:

Life is short.

We spend so much time saying, "I'll do it later."

I'll go after that dream later.

I'll take that trip later.

I'll tell that person how I feel later.

I'll start that business later.

I'll go back to school later.

I'll become the person I've always wanted to be later.

But what happens when later isn't guaranteed?

That's something surviving a car accident has made impossible for me to ignore.

If you don't go for what you want, you might lose the opportunity to have it.

And I'm not saying that because I think everything needs to happen immediately. I'm saying it because I've learned that we shouldn't take time for granted.

Sometimes we're waiting for the "perfect" moment.

We're waiting until we're more confident.

Until we have more money.

Until we're less afraid.

Until life gets easier.

Until we feel ready.

But the truth is, we may never feel completely ready.

Sometimes you just have to take the first step.

I have dreams now, that I didn't have at 19.

I have things I want to accomplish.

Places I want to see.

People I want to love.

Things I want to create.

And a life I still want to experience.

My accident changed my life, but it didn't take away my ability to live it.

If anything, it taught me to appreciate it more.

Because life isn't promised.

Life is beautiful.

It's the sunshine coming through your window in the morning.

It's laughing until your stomach hurts.

It's your favorite song playing at exactly the right moment.

It's watching the sunset.

It's trying something new.

It's falling in love.

It's making mistakes and getting another chance to try again.

It's meeting people who change your life.

It's discovering parts of yourself you didn't know existed.

It's waking up and realizing that you still have another day.

And sometimes, another day is the greatest gift you could ever receive.

Eleven years later, I don't want to spend my life asking, "What if?"

I want to ask, "Why not?"

Why not go after the dream?

Why not start the business?

Why not write the book?

Why not take the trip?

Why not say yes?

Why not try again?

Why not become the person you've always wanted to be?

My life didn't turn out the way I thought it would when I was 19.

Honestly, it turned out completely differently.

But maybe that's okay.

Because I'm still here.

I'm still growing.

I'm still dreaming.

I'm still becoming.

And I still have sunshine to find.

Surviving that accident taught me that life can change in an instant.

So I'm trying not to waste the moments I have.

I'm trying to stop waiting for permission.

I'm trying to stop being afraid of failing.

I'm trying to appreciate the life in front of me instead of constantly wishing it looked different.

Because I survived.

And I don't want to simply survive my life.

I want to LIVE it.

So if there's something you've been putting off, maybe today is the day to take one small step toward it.

Call the person.

Apply for the job.

Book the trip.

Start the project.

Write the first page.

Take the chance.

Go after what you want.

Because life is short.

Life is unpredictable.

And life is incredibly, incredibly beautiful.

Don't wait until you almost lose your life to start living it. ☀️ 

Please make sure to like this post and follow for more!!!

-B.D.R.

Living by the Sunshine