I can’t remember how many times I’ve experienced similar situations. While I was looking up information at work in the morning, suddenly my office computer lost its internet connection. After much troubleshooting, I realized it wasn’t a problem with the computer or the router. Just as I was feeling frustrated and gloomy, a call from an out-of-town number came in. There was silence for the first ten seconds, and after a moment of confusion, the first sentence left my mind blank: “Come to Shenzhen immediately, Longgang Hospital, your stepfather fell from a building at work and is seriously injured.”

The first time my mind went blank was during the summer vacation of my freshman year. It was also a phone call, with a scenario almost identical to the one before, except that time it was about my father—massive bleeding, with no warning signs, never imagining such an accident could happen. He was diagnosed with late-stage liver cirrhosis. During the years of his illness, there were several times when his condition was particularly severe. I remember one afternoon during my junior year, my uncle called and told me to rush home. Since the distance between home and school was too far and there was no high-speed rail at that time, I could only anxiously wait for the train, staring at my phone, hoping not to receive any more bad news from the other end of the line. That night, the hospital issued a series of critical condition notices, but my father still managed to pull through. I don’t know how I got through those times. Later, on the day my father passed away, I finally understood that some things are utterly meaningless to worry about.

Diseases and personal accidents have been the most frequent challenges in recent years. I’ve faced cancer and various severe and terminal illnesses many times, and I’ve experienced the illness and death of relatives and friends numerous times. With more experiences, naturally, my experience has grown. The pain of illness and the sorrow of parting are precisely those events in life that we least wish to see but are utterly unavoidable, and they are the most tempering for growth.

Dealing with Accidents Properly

Accidents, to put it bluntly, are those events that are completely unprepared for and would not normally occur. Such as being a victim of a traffic accident, sudden illness, dying without illness, etc. However, the consequences of intentional actions are not included, such as a good student getting poor grades, hitting someone while driving, or committing a crime. Additionally, accidents should be distinguished between personal accidents and others’ accidents. The former, like being in a car accident oneself, and the latter, like a relative being in a car accident. Confusing accidental events with accidental actions is not beneficial to oneself, as the latter can easily become an excuse for reckless behavior. The purpose of distinguishing between personal and others’ accidents is simply to clarify the difference between accidental events and accidental actions.

Accidents are unavoidable. If they could have been avoided but still occurred, for the person involved, it is an accidental action, and for those affected outside of the person, it is an accidental event. A drunk driver hitting a pedestrian who couldn’t dodge in time is an accidental action for the driver, but for the pedestrian, their relatives and friends, and the driver’s relatives and friends, it is a complete accidental event. The accidental action brings the driver only objective punishment and compensation, and its punitive, educational, and reflective effects are far less than the accidental event that will forever linger in the minds of others. Because the former is the result of a conscious action, the driver had the possibility of foreseeing it, while the latter is a sudden and unjust negative effect.

How to Handle Accidents After They Occur

Never doubt the possibility of experiencing an accident yourself. Human social relationships are the main source of enduring various accidents. The broader and closer the interpersonal relationships, the more and greater the accidental risks one needs to bear. No matter how big the accident, it is just an ordinary event in natural life. The depth and breadth of human civilization can make any individual’s accident completely insignificant. The core person affected by an accidental event always bears countless times more responsibility and pressure than others. At this time, the only thing that needs to be done is obvious.

The Benefits of Accidents

An inevitable journey of life, tempering the mindset towards affairs.