Defying the Odds

Chances, odds and risks. Most of the time, the only place you’ll ever hear those kinds of things is when you’re losing hundreds of dollars in Vegas. But what about in everyday life? Defying the odds of something you would 9,999,999.99 times out of 10,000,000 expect to happen. When you think of a lot of these kinds of situations, it’s usually good things. But then again the same goes with situations you wouldn’t even want to wish upon someone else or nonetheless want yourself to go through.

These situations could be anything from the most casual to the most serious. Like when will the next perfect game be thrown in the big leagues? The doctor gives a loved one 3 months, what’s the possibility that 3 months turns out to be say…3 or 4 years? They all have happened and will happen time and time again, but the rarity of them is another story.

The reason I bring this all up, and on more of a personal level, is that today I believed one of those moments happened. Some could call it a bend on divine intervention, fate or just coincidence. Now I could sit here and explain the entire situation that is going on currently, but I’ll save that for another day. For around 10-15 minutes today, I had a conversation I know I’m not going to forget for a long, long time. It started off like any other I’ve ever had with this person, asking how they are doing, them asking me how I’m enjoying school (regardless of the season) and basically how is everything else going with life (nothing out of the ordinary…just what I expected). Except this time around, it took a little twist.

Given a timeframe of life by some doctor, they lean over and say, “You know…you never really tell me more than what’s going on with school and work. Let’s talk about something else since there’s a chance this might not happen too often.” Now first thought after hearing that is something I basically just don’t want to believe or even think of for that split second. So we begin to talk.

Getting into aspirations of what I want to do with life, where I see myself down the road from where I currently am, the response I would get in return before another question was a smile. No words. Like the friend you always look for that will sit there no matter what and listen to what you have to say. So we talk briefly about the future, have I been keeping myself up to good standards and if I’ve met any “pretty” girls. It was one of those conversations you just can’t help but smile the whole way through and enjoy so much 10 minutes seems like it was 80 (In the best way possible). And then the words of advice as I’m about to leave…

“You know after all these years, I still feel like there is time to be patient with how things will go. For as young as you are, take your time. Make sure you do good and admit your mistakes. If I went as fast as you go, I would be out of breath”

When I first heard it, I really didn’t take much thought into it or let it really sink. But as I was on my way to work, something just sort of hit me. Did they just hit the head on the nail as far as how I’ve been living my life goes? Giving me advice of something I at times forget to do, like they knew all along things like that sometimes escape me?

But for some reason, once I had this realization of what all of this meant. I felt like it began right away. Like it was that final push over the fence to get me to the greener and brighter side of things. Although with that being said, it comes with it’s hardships as I’ve learned, but that’s ok.

We all live in this world where the only constant for us is change. A place where we’re all constantly on the move looking for the next best thing, or quickly trying to close in on our next chapter in life. Yet again hearing that advice, I really wonder why there is the rush. Maybe it doesn’t seem like a rush for everyone, but how many times have we blazed through something not realizing we’re affecting someone else in the process, while if we just took a little extra time, everything would be fine. Aside from time and quickness of accomplishment, the overall goodness, genuine quality and honesty is just as important.

Maybe it’s just me that I can find all this that helpful through the words of “Make sure you do good and admit your mistakes”, but maybe that’s what it takes. A word from someone who has been there, taken the time to realize the same thing themselves and passed it on. Now I started this whole thing off about odds and at this point it wouldn’t surprise me if yet again people are wondering if I’ve realized I’ve gotten off track by now, but I haven’t. I couldn’t even begin to count the amount of conversations I’ve had with this person. Yet all of a sudden this one became different. Stepping out from the regular topics of conversation, I felt they got to know me as more of a person than just another family member they see every holiday. And to me that is beating the odds, maybe it’s not in the best way whatsoever what we were just now having this conversation, but the fact that it happened and we learned more about each other and about ourselves (or at least I did).

I arrived home from work near 1 am this morning. Got word of a phone call from earlier in the night. I’m still unsure of how I’ll exactly take that information that I received, and if it was for the best or the worst. But what I do know is that in some way, a mentality was set through some defying of the odds that it wouldn’t be that simple conversation that I’ve had time and time again, but something more that I can see as some life guiding advice/difference maker.

Keep your eyes open, your ears open and talk with anyone who may need it. You’d be surprised what a few more words or seconds of listening could do.

I've dealt with my ghosts and I've faced all my demons
Finally content with a past I regret
I've found you find strength in your moments of weakness
For once I'm at peace with myself
I have been burdened with blame, trapped in the past for too long
I'm movin' on

I've lived in this place and I know all the faces
Each one is different but they're always the same
They mean me no harm but it's time that I face it
They'll never allow me to change
But I never dreamed home would end up where I don't belong
I'm movin' on

I'm movin' on
At last I can see life has been patiently waiting for me
And I know there's no guarantees, but I'm not alone
There comes a time in everyone's life
When all you can see are the years passing by
And I have made up my mind that those days aren't gone

I sold what I could and packed what I couldn't
Stopped to fill up on my way out of town
I've loved like I should but lived like I shouldn't
I had to lose everything to find out
Maybe forgiveness will find me somewhere down this road
I'm movin' on