Running for the bus

I had one of those moments today. One of those tiny moments, so seemingly ordinary, that later shows you a greater facet of life easily left behind in the everyday hustle and bustle.

Today, I had to run for the bus.

 No, this isn't what my bus looked like.

Now, that sounds like nothing. That sounds like a hectic morning, with no real meaning, other than that I got to work 15 minutes earlier than I might otherwise. I didn't have a meeting, presentation, or deadline. My life would have been no different if I hadn't made that bus I sought and had to wait for the next one. In fact, I probably could have gotten coffee down the street while I waited.

Except, I didn't want to wait for the next one. I wanted to make that bus. That particular bus, which had already passed the stop I was walking towards, and which was heading down the block towards the next intersection. Usually I would have sighed, and waited, and texted my mother to tell her of this disappointing turn of events. But, for some inexplicable reason, that was not enough for me today.

Today, I held onto my purse, and I ran.

I beat that bus to the next block. It pulled over at the stop, and I stepped up the steps, and swiped my Clipper card, and sat down huffing and puffing. And I made the bus I wanted. And I got to work 15 minutes earlier than I otherwise might have. And my day proceeded, presumably, much as it would have if I had waited for the next bus. Except that I had achieved what I wanted. I had made something happen just by changing something small about my attitude. Just by running for the bus.

And then, I thought to myself - what if all of life was like this? What if all of life IS like this? What if, every day, we each lived as if exerting only a bit more effort in our endeavors was the most important thing? What if we each pushed ourselves to the limit at everything we did without needing to clearly see the long-term difference it would provide?

This may sound cliche, and it may sound obvious, but that's fine. Because today I realized that putting forth even a small amount of seemingly "unnecessary" energy can actually change what happens to you. It might start as something small, like taking a different bus, and it might not matter now - but then again, it might matter. It might take you down an entirely different course. It might just change your life.