"Ammar's Been In An Accident"

“Ammar’s been in an accident.”

I’ve always been afraid to hear those words.

My best friend loves adrenaline. He loves pushing his mind and body to the limits. He loves freedom.

I’ve always feared that this love would come at a cost. 

Luckily he was safe.

He’s the one that called.

Not some fireman, not some doctor.

Him. Alive, Breathing.

He explained to us that he was going 60 mph on the highway, got rear-ended and flipped 8 times into a ditch.

He walked out of the car with just one small scratch on his hand.

Divinity. Luck. Randomness. 

Call it what you will. 

I’m just happy he’s alive.

If this year has taught me anything it’s that life is the uppercut you never see coming.

It’s the moving ground that you try to suppress but that will continue as it pleases.

It’s the phone call that you pray you never get.

Life is uncertain.

And you can either fight that uncertainty or surrender to it.

In our podcast coming out this Monday, Sept. 7th, I got to chat with Arthur Brooks, an esteemed social scientist at Harvard. 

We covered the topic of uncertainty.

Brooks put it this way, “Uncertain situations will find you. You don’t actually have to work very hard. But when they’re there you don’t avoid them...you lean into them. You express gratitude for them. You can’t neutralize uncertainty. You need to feel it. Roll it around in your hands. And once you own that, you feel strong. You feel good. And you’re ready for what’s next.”

I’ve always been a planner.

I like feeling in control.

I set goals, stick to them and get really frustrated with whatever gets in the way.

But this year, so much has happened both in the world and in my personal life, that I was left with no choice but to surrender.

To let go.

To follow Brooks’ advice and lean into the uncertainty of this life. 

To realize that uncertainty is the prerequisite to gratitude.

And gratitude is the root of happiness.

When you accept that you can’t control what comes next, you can finally appreciate this moment. 

You can love the fact that you still get to see your best friend.

That you still get to laugh together.

That you get another day.


Love,

Matt

Our podcast is coming out THIS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7TH! We’ve been working on this for over six months and it’s finally freaking here. In the podcast we cover topics like uncertainty, discomfort, kindness, meditation, goal setting and bring experts in on the conversation to give us, and you, the tools to grow into the best and most fulfilled versions of ourselves. 

If you have a sec, you should definitely go subscribe to it here.  

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