In a fraction of a second, your entire life can change — or terminate. Yet, so many of us often take our routine lifestyles for granted and even show feelings of hostility towards this!

I sat in bed contemplating some rather pathetic decisions I need to make in the near future. My eyes closed, the light flickered off, yet my mind continued to race. So, I turned on the TV hoping to watch something light like the Colbert Report. Instead, I see BREAKING NEWS and a burning plane crashed into someone's home. I sat dumbfounded, not wanting to believe it, praying that some how there were survivors. Anderson Cooper had no idea — he continued to say that there was only one confirmed death on the ground from the home crashed into. He announced the hot line for family members with inquiries to call. As soon as that sentence came out of his mouth, he continued to say he just received an update from the police saying there were absolutely no survivors on the flight.

I can't imagine that feeling. Both of the feelings involved in that. There is the feeling of finding out your parent, child, best friend, lover, whoever died in a chaotic fiery mess.

But what I really cannot imagine is being in that plane. How many times have I sat in a plane? Multiple times every year since I was a young child. So many times I have experienced such scary turbulence, but had so much faith in my God, the pilot and was just so naïve to believe nothing could ever happen — believing that I am invincible.

The truth is, that could have been me, and it still could be me. We are NOT promised tomorrow. And while many of us think "live today like it is your last" or "live for the moment" are idealistic and wish to apply it to our lives — how many of us actually do? We don't! We get too caught up in the mindless day to day chores.

But tonight, someone was one that plane to see a lover they hadn't seen in a while. Yet one of them is left alone. Never to touch those lips or that hair or speak to the one tangible person who understands them ever again.

Someone lost a mother. Someone lost a father. Most of these people probably feel like they lost EVERYTHING in a split second, while we sit here in our beautiful worlds, often only able to focus on the negative. What are our problems really? Especially in comparison to the majority of the world living below the poverty line, unable to experience the things even many of the poorest Americans take for granted.

What would my thoughts have been on that plane? What were their thoughts? I know all of this is morbid, but my head is spinning right now, and this is what is going through it. I was hoping some writing would help me to sleep, but it has had quite the opposite effect.

What would I have said to the person next to me? How quickly would it have all happened? Would I have had time to think at all? Would I have been frozen? Would I have been so scared that my heart simply burst within my chest? If I did have thoughts racing through my head, would I have had regrets? Would I have wished I would have taken more risks? Put myself on the line more often? Always said what I felt, even if it was completely scary and irrational? Because more often than not, beautiful outcomes come from those risks, yet we let previous wounds keep us from doing anything. We would rather be stuck with something bland than to run the risk of pain for something beautiful. And that is stupid, yet I find myself acting in such a pathetic, too-guarding-of-the-heart fashion.

So, terrible, depressing, awful plane crash, you have inspired me. I'm going to do it. I'll put myself out there one more time, while still being cautious with my fragile heart, but not so cautious that I do not let anyone else in.
But now I ask you to do the same, and to not take it for granted, because this is one of the hardest things I have ever done.