how short we are.

i've been thinking a lot about life and death lately. a couple of weeks ago one of my roommates came home pretty torn up. he volunteers with high school students in the same ministry i used to work in. he was hanging out with a couple of freshman guys one night (i believe they were both 14), and they happened upon the scene of a motorcycle accident that had occurred just moments beforehand. they were literally the first on the scene, along with one other car, and the other motorcyclist the guy had been riding with. though he wasn't sure what happened, apparently the guy riding just wandered out of his lane and clipped the curb of the median, being thrown immediately from his bike. he wasn't wearing any protective gear. my roommate of course got out of his car to try and help and see what was going on. he said he and the guy from the other car had to help flip this guy over because he was literally choking to death on his own blood from the internal injuries he had sustained in the crash. of course they had to be very careful because who knows what kind of spinal injuries he may have sustained as well. so here is my roommate, and two 14 year old about to be freshman in high school, just watching this poor man drown in a pool of his own blood waiting for an ambulance to arrive. as soon as the ambulance arrived they took off because my roommate felt it was prudent to keep the kids from having to see anymore than what they already had. and they were pretty shaken up by it. who wouldn't be?

so after getting home and telling us this story, it's just been pressing on my heart as of late. the guy died after being airlifted to a hospital. it's just crazy to me how little control we have over our circumstances. i mean, yes it could be argued that this guy was taking way too many extra risks in just riding a motorcycle, and especially riding with no protective equipment. but that's not what i'm talking about. i can guarantee that an accident like that is not how he was planning on going out. no one plans for that sort of thing. but it happens. all the time. i think especially living in america, we tend to put this protective bubble around ourselves, believing ourselves impervious to these sorts of tragedies. when we're not. safety is such an illusion. and it's an illusion that i would be willing to say most people spend their entire lives chasing after. what a waste! to spend all of your time chasing the idea of something that doesn't actually exist. having spent a lot of time traveling to third world countries and hanging out with people who have no idea what the illusion of safety even is, i have to say it's such a refreshing concept. no one i've met in afghanistan or the dominican republic or mexico spends their time thinking about how to make their lives safer and more convenient. they just worry about living. about spending time with the people they care about and making the most of what they have. what would things be like here if people started to rearrange their priorities so that they weren't at the top of their own list? what could we change? what could we do about the sad state the rest of the world is in?

we have an entire country freaking out about an economic recession right now. even though if you've taken even the most basic course in macroeconomics (which is a prerequisite for graduation at most high schools in the country now), you would know that recessions are an inevitable part of the economic cycle. it's part of how a free market economy works. it goes up and down and up and down. but like i said, everyone here has prioritized their lives so that they are the most important part, and god forbid you take a paycut and make $50,000 this year instead of $75,000. something like 70% of the world makes and lives on less than $1 american per day. and yet they're still alive. still breathing. no thanks to us of course.

i'm doing a lot of rambling, and i apologize. i guess what i'm trying to say is this: life is way too short to spend all of your time thinking about yourself. there is way too much hurt and pain in the world, and selfishness and greed aren't doing anything. i'm reminded of jesus' command to "store up treasures for yourself in heaven, not on earth where moth and rust destroy." because in the end, no matter how much money you save and no matter how secure you make your house, when you die, you die. and none of that gets to go with you. why not spend your time and money making a difference for the people that you share the world with, instead of piling up a bunch of stuff that's just going to decay and mean nothing to you after you're gone.

like i said, i've been thinking a lot lately. sometimes i wish i wasn't the only one thinking.