I was walking down the street, thinking and worrying about the outcome of something. I don’t quite remember what. There some paramedics across the street at a restaurant wheeling a person into the back of an ambulance. I did not pay it much attention because what I was worrying about seemed more important. I must have just started thinking positive about the situation because when an old woman’s voice said as I passed a bench, “You never know what’s going may happen,” I was filled with joy about the positive things that can take place that I can not even imagine with my worrisome mind. I turned to look at her, smiled and said with deep sincerity, “Thank you.” But instead of what I was expecting, an old woman reading my mind and filling me with the wisdom I needed in the moment, I saw a frail old lady filled with worry herself. My joy sank. She was watching the scene across the street, staring her own mortality right in the face. She said to me, “One minute you might just be sitting there, enjoying lunch and the next minute this …” she motioned to the ambulance. I said, something back to her, perhaps a little insensitive, “You never know what good may happen,” attempting to give some of the unintended wisdom she gave to me back to her. I don’t think it worked. She just shook her head with sadness in her eyes, “You never know what’s going to happen.” I walked on, a little later regretting I did not stay with her a little longer.
You Never Know What May Happen
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