Second Chances

I'm doing some editing on an old article...and it reminded me of the second chances (or third...or fourth) we are often given - or give others (or other creatures). Some call them mistakes, while others call them opportunities for growth, but when we or someone, or something finds himself in a jam because of a choice they made...and another helps them out...or simply forgives, then we or they are given a second chance to begin again...or so it seems.

The story I was working on had to do with a Monarch butterfly I had saved from a stream a few years back on an early October afternoon. And if you know anything about Monarchs, it is during this time (the last seasonal generation - the last of three to four generations here in the northeast each season) that their great migrations to Mexico takes place to insure that their species continues to live on.

...And it got me to thinking...

How many chances do we get? How many chances do we give other people or other beings? ...And how and when do we decide? How many chances have others given me - my own mother, father, siblings, friends, co-workers...and Joan, my wife? What if they hadn't...when they did? Our lives are shaped and directed by the reactions of others to choices we make - the seemingly "good" choices...but perhaps more important - the seemingly "bad" choices. And each of our lives have a ripple effect and the second chances we give and are given, reverberate out into the world to places we can never anticipate...

And so, I guess I just wanted to say thank you to those who've given me a second chance (or third...or fourth) and remind myself to give a second chance to other people, places, or things - be it through forgiveness or compassion or a deed that might make a difference to them...knowing that like a pebble dropped into the water - the ripples go out in every direction...forever.