Has your view on life changed?
Since getting in a near death automobile accident where the other party died, I have gotten this question from friends and family and people that I have spoke to during doctor appointments. “Has your view on life changed now that you realize how fragile life is”?
I definitely realize more now than ever how fragile life is. But prior to the accident I had done a lot of videos and blogs about friends and family who have died. I lost my 16 year old brother in 2002, and I had attended dozens of funerals of friends who have died early (all in Utah coincidentally). So life has always seemed fragile to me.
But to get to the question of “has my view on life changed”? Honestly, no not really. I still have the same political and philosophical views as I have had for decades. What seems obvious to me is that I have been tempered by life long before this accident. I left home early, and I made my way through many differing experiences. My life experiences include spending time in jail for a harmless plant (cannabis), being homeless for almost 3 years as a teen, and then pulling myself up by the bootstraps, getting educated and working as a professional. So I have saw my different walks of life first hand.
People ask me if I view drunk driving, or PTSD differently. As it happened, I was hit by a combat veteran who likely was suffering from PTSD. He had been arrested for drunk driving just two month before the accident where he hit me head on, going the wrong direction on the freeway. So people won’t if I hold it against this guy, if I am angry at him, or if my view on this situation has changed any?
To answer this, I have some video to explain where I stand on this issue. But to put it plainly, this doesn’t change my POV on these topics, it just re-enforces it. In March 2013 I had already started training to do the Tough Mudder challenge that was set for July 28th 2013. The Tough Mudder is a benefit put on to sponsor the Wounded Warriors Project. The Wounded Warriors Project benefits people like the person who hit me in the accident that I was in. People who come home with issue due to combat and who need help. Our government often ignores the issues that veterans come home with after combat. A veteran commits suicide every 65 minutes in our country. Over 70% of Veterans Administration benefit applications are denied to begin with, and Vets must fight for years to ever get the benefits that they need. So no, my view on these topics haven’t changed they have just been reenforced.
This is a video that I did in September to talk about this, and I have video of me explaining the Tough Mudder and the Wounded Warriors Project from before the accident. > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0dq25Xgnk0
For reference and as per the video, cannabis is being found to effectively treat PTSD
