Everyone is navigating overwhelming circumstances. Regardless the flavor, we all lead challenging lives. It is critically important to recognize this and use that knowledge to practice empathy. Empathy is such a powerful part of humanity so making the decision to embrace this paradigm early will expedite your path to fulfillment. The simple fact that chaos rules our existence raises some pretty interesting human realities. Firstly, we have to accept that we are not in control. Funny statement seeing we live as if were in total control. We believe practicing time management; getting that new job; buying that dream car, or house, or boat, is control because well… We made a plan or goal and have now accomplished it. At face value, that looks and tastes like control, but smells fishy. Why?! Because that is superficial control. It is simply a distraction from the imminent reality that peace and comfort and predictability and routine and health and capability are merely temporary. We are only capable to control very small fragments of our life experience while the rest resides amidst the abstract and ever-changing world of chaos. Take for example, Steve… Steve works for a construction company and is tasked with swapping out 25 windows on the 50th story of an office building in Manhattan, NY. The company he works for hired a high level safety and risk management business like 2SIX Advisors to create a minimal risk work environment for their high elevation construction teams. The company spared no expense. When everything was said and done, all workers were well trained, had the most cutting edge equipment, and an overall culture of safety. there were safety personnel on site and managers over-watching to ensure accountability remained intact. Steve worked for two weeks on the project and completed the job flawlessly. They even wrapped up two days early saving the client thousands of dollars. After all of that exposure, Steve gets into his vehicle, puts his seatbelt on, and begins his drive home. During that drive someone cuts him off and he swerves to avoid a traffic collision. During this defensive maneuver Steve inadvertently cuts off Spike on his Harley Davidson. Spike almost crashes but recovers. Spike is not like Steve. Spike is a bad person. Spike has spent his life engaged in criminal activities, dodging work, and being an overall menace and pest to society. Spike has no real goals other than to be tough and follow whatever his gang leaders tell him to do. Spike has no self awareness, is deeply insecure, and uses violence to get his way. Today is worse though. Today Spike lost $10,000 of fentanyl that was to be cut and redistributed to addicts for profit. Spike is well aware of all the adolescent deaths directly tied to the fentanyl epidemic in the U.S. as his nephew died last week from exposure. He knows his situation is dire and he has to figure out how to tell his gang-boss. Completely driven by impulsivity, emotions, and ego…Spike takes out his stolen “ghost gun,” and fires one round at Steve. Steve ducks down and locks his breaks up. He then accelerates hard, calls 911 and gives a description of Spike. Steve is rattled and breathing heavily. Both his passenger and driver windows are shattered and glass is stuck in his cheek. Spike evades the scene. Running red lights, almost impacting pedestrians, and eventually arrives at his destination; his local bar where he is a regular. Meanwhile, the bullet Spike fired that missed Steve is lodged in the chest cavity of Matthew; a god fearing father of four who is happily married and employed as a trauma nurse where he helps people and saves lives every day. Matthew was en route to his daughters recital where she earned the lead role and is ecstatic to perform for her family. Matthew’s vehicle coasts from lane to lane eventually coming to a stop by impacting a light pole where passersby come to render aid. They remove him from the vehicle, call 911, administer CPR, and pray. Even with all of their effort and an astonishingly rapid response time by first responders, Matthew succumbs to his wounds and passes in the emergency department 50 minutes later… Quite the dramatic example but a perfect shuttle to ensure I know my readers are on the same page as me. Matthew or his family had nothing to do with the events of that day other than being victims of life’s frightening but very real paradigm of chaos. As heart-wrenching as that example is, we must all realize every human on this planet is navigating this chaos. We all manage it in some way or another. Some choose distractions while others choose dependency. Some become helpers and build beautiful families while others choose comfort, pleasure, and gluttony. Regardless what people choose to do with their lives, it is our duty as good human beings to understand the value of empathy; to be kind and compassionate. To see the flaws and weaknesses of others and choose to lift them up. We owe it to each other to love one another. Our time here is short and we never know what tomorrow will bring. SO, in conclusion… Please… Slow down…Practice patience; be long to anger and short to forgiveness. Make friends and cherish our most powerful resource… Time… Tomorrow brings another day and I hope you decide to be a little bit better tomorrow. I hope each day you make a conscious choice to become Better Everyday. – Duztin Watson-