Catherine and I were on our way to our nephew's birthday party one rainy Saturday morning driving along what some people call moose alley. It was early, few other cars on the road and we were looking forward to a good day spent with family. It wasn't that we hadn't driven this road before, in fact, many, many times through the bush-laden countryside. 

Suddenly Seemingly Out of Nowhere 

A moose darted out across our path. Fortunately, a quick swerve to the other lane prevented a full impact with only a collision on the right side of our car ripping off the mirror and embedding moose hair down the side of the car, and knocking the moose to the pavement. 

Shaken But Fine 

By the time I stopped and looked back in my rear view mirror, the moose was getting up and then ran into the bush. Shaken but fine, we both looked at each other with a stunned expression. We both knew that moose accidents had claimed many lives throughout the years, and we knew we had been very fortunate to escape with only slight vehicle damage and no personal injury or worse. After a quick check of our vehicle, we started off again. 

It took only a few seconds from start to finish in our moose accident but those few seconds in our lives have reverberated through time to this day. Why?

 

We had often talked about the frailty of life, the here today and gone tomorrow potential we all face but it had never been so personally realistic before. And, it wasn't that we haven't had friends, relatives, and colleagues die before, it was now much more personal. In the matter of seconds, lives can be irreversibly altered; death could have easily been the result.

 

One Near Miss With Death 

The value of that one near miss with death has been a positive, a reawakening to the value of each day. Each one of us has only a limited time on this earth; no one can predict when your time will end. But, the time between life and death is a time to give thanks for each day, to see the sun rise again, to know that you can accomplish, can help, can assist others to appreciate their life if they are caught in the poor-me syndrome.

 

The Message Is Clear 

Seize each day as if it is your last because that just might be the case. Take each day for the real gift it is; enjoy each day and add a joyful thought or a laugh or a simple appreciation to sit for a moment and enjoy the expression of freedom that it entails. 

You have a gift, a gift that is immeasurable in its own right. You can make each day a day of value, or you can chose to complain where you have to right to. What kind of day will you have now?