As a teenager growing up in Jamaica I clearly remember the day that a moment in time made all the difference in the world.
Raised Catholic, I was tuned in to the upcoming events of the church. There is one big event that everyone wants to attend each year and my grandmother was determined to attend. Fashionista that she is, a new outfit, and a fresh hairdo is a must.
But there were no reservations to be had. All beauty salons were fully booked and so she decided not to attend the event if she couldn’t get her hair done.
We were awakened at 5:00 am to wailing in the streets.
The train taking the revelers to the event had derailed and many were dead.
My grandmother, Gong Gong said to me, “that’s why I couldn’t go, it was not my time.”
I never forgot it. She passed away peacefully in her sleep many years later.
A moment in time makes all the difference in the world in a person’s life.
A Live Wire
I received an invitation to join a sailing trip on Lake Michigan the other day, and immediately called a friend to join me. Luckily, she was available and we sailed off into a beautiful day with winds in our sails and wine, friends, and joy.
When my friend returned home, her house was cordoned off with police tape. The police and the fire department were there.
Here’s what happened…
While we were sailing, a power line snapped and flew around her back yard including where she typically sits to work.
The powerline burned things in it’s path. The gutters on a neighbors house was burned, the junction box was burned. The live wire grabbed anything in its path.
Luckily, the neighbor was not home and my friend was on a sailboat, sharing wine and friendship with some wonderful people.
A moment in time makes all the difference in the world.
Had she been home, my friend might not be here today, as the back yard where the power line snapped is where she spends a lot of her time and she would have been there had she not been sailing.
Just a few feet more
Another friend was recently out driving in her car with her inlaws in the back seat. A teenage driver suddenly ran right into the front of her car.
He hit her car so hard, the front end was completely sheared off and landed on the other side of the street.
Luckily no one was killed.
Just a few feet more and he would have slammed right into her door on the driver’s side and she would be dead. Everyone is OK. It was not their time.
Benjamin Button
All of this reminded me of a section of the movie “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” a movie that I really love.
At one point in the movie something terrible happens and the narrater says:
“A woman was on her way to an appointment and had to return to her apartment because she forgot something. while there, the phone rang and she took the call. As she reached the street, someone else stole the cab that stopped for her. So she got another cab. The cab driver had stopped for coffee and so had a hot cup of coffee on board. The woman stopped to pick up a package. The package was not wrapped and so she waited to get it wrapped. Then she got back into her cab in a hurry to make her appointment. Just then the hot coffee spilled and the cab driver looked away for a moment. Then someone stepped into the street…”
A moment in time makes all the difference in the world.
Odd things happen every day. Sometimes it makes us really angry. Sometimes things don’t work out. Sometimes, we wonder “why me?”
Perhaps it’s the universe saying, “it’s not your time.”
A Life Lost
The blog post would have ended here but that Steve Jobs recently passed away.
It was a surprise. I knew it was coming as he was ill, but it was still a surprise. He had executed the Succession Plan for Apple only six weeks earlier.
Here was a man who knew what he wanted, went for it, and did a fine wrap up before moving on to the next life.
He has shared his genius with us, released the iPad2 and the iPhone 4.
He knew that it was his time…
We will miss him.
 Known as a highly effective teacher, public speaker, and communicator, Yvonne F. Brown has taught seminars on team building, leadership, communication, & management in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. |
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| Yvonne is proficient in a variety of management topics, including interpersonal, organizational, and intercultural communications, conflict management skills, and helps employees with their career growth. |
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