When life cracks open
“Oooh, nooo!!”
And then, a loud noise.
This happened yesterday. I was sitting at a quiet café, working on the Bearming theme. All of a sudden, the calm was replaced by a yell and pure chaos.
It turned out an old man had fainted. The scream came from the woman he pulled down with him when he fell.
Moments later, ambulances and paramedics arrived.
They took good care of both people. The man spoke incoherently and seemed to drift in and out of consciousness. The woman had either broken or badly sprained her leg, so they had to stabilize it.
Half an hour later, the sirens faded away and everything was back to normal.
Once again, I was struck by a humbling reminder of life’s unpredictability. Everything can change in a split second. You never really know.
I find myself reflecting on this more and more as I get older. Probably because I’m getting closer and closer to death. Most likely, I’ve already lived more years than I have left.
But I also think it has to do with the fragility that comes with aging, and I don’t mean the body. I’m talking about another shell. It’s like the strong shell of identity you often carry when you’re young starts to crack open.
You become more receptive to your surroundings. The environment, other people, the atmosphere.
The shell breaks apart, and life breaks through.