Timing is Everything?

In the last few days there have been two stories
that I have read in which tragedy has been
averted by timing, as well as by choice.

The first story was about the stage at the
Indiana State Fair. While the events were
tragic, and 5 people died, there could have
been more deaths, had the performing act
been on stage at the time of the wind gust.

The second story was about a man in New Mexico
who, thanks to an unlikely series of events,
was in the right vicinity to save a little
girl from a kidnapping.

In both cases, timing played a role, but so
did choice. The manager of the group is the
one who told the performers to stay off the
stage, even after they were given the go ahead
by others who were present. The man could
have seen the events and done nothing about
it, however he chose to pursue the van and
man who was kidnapping the girl.

What if life is full of moments that have
the perfect timing, but we don't choose to
act? What if the times we feel stuck are
those times that decline to act in regard
to the situation in front of us?

I find sometimes people who feel stuck say
they don't have a choice. While it might
be difficult to consider, there is always
a choice - even a choice to do nothing is
a choice. Just because we don't like the
options doesn't mean they don't exist.

A baseball player can choose to swing at
a pitch, or not. But he doesn't even have
those choices available to him until he's
up at bat. What he may be able to do
will have to do with his timing. He may
get a single, and be the first one on
base, or he could come up with the bases
loaded and walk. Either way his choices
get him on base, however the timing
contributes to what the ultimate outcome
is going to be.

If you hit a ball that goes to the
outfield and is caught, you may be
the last out of the game, or you may
be responsible for the winning run.

There are lots of possibilities, many
of which are dictated by the timing.
Some of which are more preferable than
others.

What are you going to do the next time
you're at bat? How are you going to
see what you have done? What if winning
isn't dictated by a particular outcome,
but rather by the fact that you just played?

So maybe it isn't timing that is everything.
Maybe it's Timing+Choice+Perspective that
makes us who we are and has everything to
do with why we sometimes feel stuck or
motivated. And just maybe it is the choices
that we make that create the timing we have.

Maybe it is not HOW life happens that is
important, but rather that it DOES.
And maybe it is not so much about what
happens, as much as it is about how we
view our world and ourselves as a result.

Maybe.

Just a thought to nibble on, or not.

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