Being someone else...

This leaf on the Peace Tree has been written by my lovely mum, Jodi Lee. My mum’s words are a reflection on recent events in our local community and thoughts of being someone else.

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I have spent the past few weeks imagining I was someone else. To be precise, I have been imagining myself as the winning ticket holder of the recent Lotto jackpot. Although I admit occasionally I will give in to a whim and buy a ticket to dream big for a week or so, I had not done so on this occasion.

Imagine my excitement to then discover that the winning ticket had been purchased from my local newsagency. While I knew that I had not won it didn’t stop me from daydreaming the whole ‘what if’ scenario.

So I have been spending my free moments imagining I was the lucky winner and mentally spending my millions.

Then driving home from Melbourne a couple of days ago we were caught in a traffic gridlock that seemed to go on forever. As we were waved through a detour by a policeman we could see that the cause of the hold up was a serious accident at the next intersection.

As we passed we could see there had obviously been at least one fatality and it was a sobering thought to realise that someone would not make it home safely tonight. Somewhere, someone’s family would answer a knock on their door and their lives would never be the same again.

As I drove on it occurred to me that this was an intersection I used on a regular basis and it could just as easily have happened to me. I thanked God that it had not and  we had in fact made it home safely.

So I have found myself simultaneously wishing I was someone else while also being extremely thankful not to be someone else. I think I will be happy for now simply to be myself and be grateful for what I have.

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Thank you Mum for always reminding me to be grateful for what I have in life. You have always taught me to “be happy with who you are”. I believe that peace within yourself cannot be achieved solely by yourself but is guided by the wisdom and support of others. I am grateful my mum is one of these people.