Page 139 - Dash Inspirations by Linda Ellis

Variables
I read the words: “605 Roadway Fatalities This Year” as I drove under
the digital sign suspended ominously over Interstate 75 heading north to the Carolinas. I felt an unexpected, yet undeniable heaviness in my heart as I passed several self-assembled wooden crosses donning plastic flowers erected by loved ones at intervals along the side of the road. Some were painted bright white and by the looks of them, had been repainted with love and care after the weather had begun to take its toll. I watched other drivers speed by these makeshift monuments seemingly unaffected.
I couldn’t help but wonder if any of them, like me, were contemplating as they drove by each, if that cross represented number 603 and that one, number 604. As I drove, my thoughts drifted to the 600+ souls who had
left their homes or businesses on a particular day this year, living it as any other, never considering the possibility that they might become a statistic on a digital sign...all because of a variable.
As my Jeep became surrounded by speeding cars and eighteen wheeled trucks, I pondered the many impossible-to-expect variables and how life itself is but a risk at any given moment. Did the semi driver I see on my left sleep enough hours last night to restore his reflexes? Did the driver on my right just receive a text from a lover who wishes to end their
relationship? Did the Toyota owner in front of me finally replace that well-worn tire his wife had requested he take care of last month? Is there a large, frightened white-tailed deer waiting in the woods to suddenly
emerge in the lane in front of me?
Is it possible that I left the house this morning just like my 605 predecessors, innocent and unaware, ignoring the existence and power of the incalculable variables? So we hope and we pray and we try to perform good deeds and live our lives to ensure that the things we do matter or make a difference. Perchance then, our worth, our positive contributions
and the value our presence can continue to add to lives here on earth will be recognized. But the variables don’t care about good deeds. They are not entities with a feeling, thoughtful soul. They are random. They are inescapable. They are unpredictable. They are everywhere...and they do not believe in karma.
Dash Inspirations by Linda Ellis www.LindaEllis.life
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