Why I have "My Life Day" and you should too.

I named it “My Life Day.” Literally in just a few seconds, my life would be radically changed forever and nearly cost me my life, but I wouldn’t change it anything. Life can change in a moment. In good ways, and in ways you wish it didn’t, leaving us to deal with the aftermath.

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain.

When I was 14 years old, I was riding home on my bicycle with two of my friends Wayne and his cousin Ernie. They were on the left side of the road riding against traffic, but off on the shoulder. I was riding with traffic on the right side.

It was Friday late afternoon and the last day of high school 9th grade for us. We just had an ice cream, and we were riding our bikes home.

That’s when a drunk driver was speeding down the road coming at Wayne and Ernie. As she crested the small hill, she saw my friends. She swerved wildly and unnecessarily to the other side of the road.

She never saw me. There were no skid marks or braking as she plowed into me at full speed. My bike was crushed below her big metal bumper as I flew over the hood, hit the windshield, and flew into the air.

The police report said that my body flew over 50 feet before crashing nearly lifeless onto the blacktop road.

The ambulance took me to the local hospital, but my injuries where too severe, so they sent me down to a trauma hospital near New York City.

When the neurosurgeon came out to talk to my parents he said, “Your son has a severe fracture at the back of his head from when he hit the road. If your son survives the night, he will be a vegetable for the rest of his life.”

My mom collapsed in my dad’s arms and they cried. And they prayed for a miracle.

For the next 4 days, I lied in a coma. Unconscious and unaware of what had happened. I had casts on my arm and leg, my head was in bandages and I was hooked up to oxygen. My mom and dad where there by my side, holding my hand, when I woke and asked, “Where am I?”

I was in the hospital for 2 weeks, and then in physical rehabilitation and therapy for a year. The worst part was that I had severe headaches for years, that would drop me to my knees. Plus I struggled with my memory and focus for many years.

The doctor said I’d be a vegetable. He was half right, because I am vegetarian … sometimes anyway. 🙂 

Every June 7th on the anniversary of the accident, I celebrate with gratitude for this great gift. I call it “My Life Day.”

It gave me a perspective and understanding how fragile the life is. How quickly life can change. I learned how nothing is guaranteed.

My parents often asked me while I was recovering, “You’ve been given gift. Another chance at life. What are you going to do with it?” Deep in my subconscious my mind, their words have empowered my life.

I often wonder how different my life would be if this didn’t happen. Would I appreciate life as much? Would I take as many risks? Would I get lost in the simple marvels of the world like sunsets and the morning mist over the lake. Would I squeeze out every ounce of life that I can get? Would I be the adventurer that I am? Would I have written books, broke world records or became an professional speaker?

In part, the accident is why I was an Emergency Medical Technician and Firefighter for 6 years. I wanted to save other people, like the medics and doctors saved my life.

In a keynote speech Steve Jobs talked about how you can only connect-the-dots when looking back at your life. So often we don’t know why things happens to us, only to be reviled later on how it was perfect synchronicity.

Even though I didn’t make firefighting my lifelong career, the medical training saved my life on Mt. Whitney while I was breaking the 146 mile world record. As I was near the top of the 14,505 foot mountain, I was going into hypoglycemic shock. My medical training allowed me to recognize it, and counteract it.

It would also save my daughter when she choking on a toy and my medical training instincts kicked in without hesitation. And when her appendix was about to rupture and I rushed her to the children’s hospital. And all the people I made a difference while a firefighter/EMT.

The accident influenced my travel and insatiable need to explore and experience life in every way that I can. It allowed me to share the stories and experiences with audiences and impact other people.

But here is the most important part …

Whenever something bad happens in life, after the initial shock of it, I always ask myself, “If there was something good to come out of this, what would it be?”

That’s an empowering question to ask yourself when life goes sideways and beats you up. It always shifts me from victim - to finding meaning or purpose.

When you are going though tough times, seek out the truth, not the circumstances.

Divorce, bankruptcy, medical issues, lawsuit, or some other tragedy. After the initial shock, ask yourself, “If there was something good about this, or something good to come out of this, what would it be?”

It might not be immediately evident, but there is always a gift in every challenge and tragedy. If you are willing to look beyond the chaos and emotions of what is happening.

The accident also has made me a bit philosophical. I even studied philosophy in university. They were some of my favorite classes. I often find myself pondering life and the meaning of things.

I look at the randomness and I see order. I observe order and see chaos. I reflect on my life and I watch others and this is what I often notice.

We worry about things that don’t matter.
We don’t worry about things that do matter.

We are too focused on money and material things. When we should be focused on sustainable wealth, family and experiences.

We want to be better than others, rather than helping be better.

We get angry too fast. Criticize others. And we don’t take enough true responsibility for our own lives.

We focus on our differences instead of seeing how much we are all alike.

We spend too much time on social media and we don’t spend enough time listening and looking into each others’ eyes.

We waste too much time on opinion talk news, gossip, escaping life through a Netflix series and not enough time on self-mastery.

None of this is a judgement, just observations.
My life is just as chaotic and messy as the next person. This is the beauty of it, we are all navigating this thing we call life.

We like to think we have life figured out, when none of us have much of anything figured out. Or, just when we seem to have figured it out, life throws us a curve ball and knocks us into a storm.

We are all on our own journey.
To make the best out of precious time here in this world.

The philosopher in me says that nothing matters. But it also reminds me how everything matters. But what matters most is what you decide to focus on and the meaning you give to life’s events.

If you have an accident or tragedy to celebrate your “Life Day”, then make it an annual anniversary to celebrate the gift you have been given. If you don’t, then choose a random day to celebrate.

Happy Life Day,
Croix

PS,
Sometimes, I am asked what happened to the driver of the car and if I was able to forgive her. She never reached out to see if I was okay. I can’t blame her. Nor was I ever mad at her. If she was drunk in the afternoon, I imagine that she was dealing with issues of her own. In the end, I don’t know what happened with her. But I hope her life was blessed as much as mine.

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PPS,
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