Switching gears. This time round, it's not always about cars. Life is too short to really accomplish every single task you set out to do. It's the truth. No matter how many deadlines you claim to have made, how many orders you've filled, or how many goals you've achieved in your lifetime... There will always be some that you will never be met. My point is that everyone is so concerned with getting to the end, that they forget the entire journey. And what do you have to show for it? Suddenly things start to appear differently than when you began your journey. For whatever reason... I had a real sad, but refreshing, re-realization today.
A man walks into Circuit. He is asking me about wall mounts, and I'm just trying to do my job. I'm explaining to him which one would be of higher construction, what would hold his television best, and why. I offered to grab the box for him, and he accepted, but he then was saying how his arms hurt and he couldn't lift the mount box. I didn't really think anything of it, but the man added something to the end of his first statement. "People think my arms hurt because I'm so active, but in reality it's my bones..." Confused for a minute, I paused. He then added that he had cancer in his bones.
So after explaining that I was sorry to hear that he had bone cancer, this man laughed and said that it wasn't something that he could control, or that anything I could control, so there was no apology needed. Understanding how he felt looking from the outside was the only thing I could really say... Because it is true. I may not know what kind of pain he deals with every day, but I can tell him from my personal experiences what it is like to view what he is dealing with on the outside. I am able to give him a perspective that he is unable to see himself. Anyone who knows me knows what I am talking about.
This poor man told me that he felt lucky to have friends that still cared. He told me that throughout his life, he was always doing sports and was outside, and he didn't have time for his friends. Soon, he was diagnosed with bone cancer. All those sports he loved to play soon became a favorite past time, and he didn't really have anything to do during the day. That is why he was in there to buy a mount. He recently ordered high definition cable to enjoy himself indoors. He said that his friends were nice enough to grace him with their company, but that he wished he would have changed one thing looking back on them. He said that he wished he could have kept in contact with all of his friends from back when he was a young adult, and that he had just looked at things a little bit more, instead of doing them. In my opinion, it sounded like he was almost telling me that he felt he had missed out on some opportunities in his life because he was so caught up in doing what he loved, that he never even got to look at them, he was always doing them.
He said he lost a lot of his contacts, partially because they moved, partially because he moved, and partially because times changed, and people changed. I helped this gentleman out to his car, shook his hand, and he wished me a happy and fulfilling future. He even went as far as adding that I was a good kid, and that my father would have been proud of me. I wished him a good day, and that whatever his new goals in life may be, he would be able to achieve what he could with what he was given.
Life is short. Expect the unexpected. After hearing all about his life, I was reacquainted with a familiar sensation. It wasn't one of anger, happiness, or confusion. It was one of realization. It all came together, again.
The reason I'm writing this is because everyone needs a breather once in a while. If you did not, you would not be a happy person, and by the end of your life what could you have said about what you've accomplished. Yeah, I've made a million dollars! So? You're old and gray. What could you enjoy with your "one million dollars" at your age, and what did you experience along the way? Today gave me a wake up call that I most certainly won't forget. Take a second to enjoy the finer things in life. Enjoy what makes us human. Enjoy what you have, and be thankful for it. I hate kids that make it seem like they have nothing, when they really have something. I don't really understand how someone could just not appreciate what they truly have, and they are blessed with it. I probably was that kid at one point, and at times I'm sure I am, but not today. A change in pace, a change in direction... A change. It all started with a change. Change your perspective. Try something new, experience things that are away from your comfort zone. Experience... Life. You never know what you will find, who you will meet, or what you will see. You might have a change of plans, change of heart, or a change of pace. Whatever you do though, make sure you enjoy yourself along the way, because sooner than never, you'll end up not enjoying yourself at all.
