A few weeks ago I was abducted by aliens, taken aboard a space ship and whisked away to the outer limits of the solar system. The ride was actually rather smooth and very fast. But when one travels faster than the speed of light, what else is there to expect.
The spaceship made a sharp turn and with a sudden jolt came to a stop, sending me sprawling to the floor. There I was, on the floor of a space ship.. in outer space.
As if by magic, I was picked up off the floor, put into a chair and placed under a series of bright interrogations lights. All I could see in front of me were sets of glowing bright green eye, thousands of them. The heat from the lights caused me to break out in a sweat. I remember once being told, “Never let them see you sweat!” But the lights were really hot and I was sweating.
There was a quiet buzz around the room. It did not sound like talking, but I was sure it was some form of telepathic communication going on among the 'beings' in the room.
As quickly as the buzz began, it was now silence. A pale yellow light moved directly in front of me. From deep within the light came a voice, a voice one might expect to hear from someone like Tom Brokaw.
“Do you know why you are here,” the voice asked?
I didn't have a clue, but I thought I would play along for a minute or two. Sometimes my curiosity gets in the way.
“Of course. You need a quick-witted, intelligent human from the planet earth to study in order to strengthen and enrich your new society and I am just the person.”
There was a roar of laughter. The voice cleared its throat and the laughter stopped.
“Well, maybe that's what you think. But that’s not the reason. I am going to ask you two questions and the answers you give will determine whether you return to earth.”
There was a sudden seriousness to the voice and I began to think that this was real. How difficult could two questions be. I'm a pretty smart guy, but just in case, i wondered if I had a lifeline, someone I could call? But I surmised I was now on my own.
“Question one. Name three people upon whose life you have had a significant influence.”
I began to think about all the people I had come into contact throughout my life; kids, parents of kids, clients, colleagues, friends, enemies, the people in the grocery stores. The more I thought the more difficult it became because I really didn't know if I had had any influence or not. I wanted to believe that I had, but.... I guess I really wasn't sure.
"Could we move on to question 2"
“Question two. Name one event in you life that, if given the opportunity, you would do over.”
That was easy! There were many things I would do over. Wait a minute. This was a trick question. Life does not allow ‘do-overs’. Life is an on-going process and while we do not get the opportunity for ‘do-over’, we do get the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and move on.
There was sudden silence.
As quickly as I had been whisked away into outer space, it was now dark. The only light and sound was coming from my television.What had just happened?
I know I hadn't been abducted by aliens. I had fallen asleep while watching television. But the two questions in my dream were stuck in my head. Who, if anyone, had I influenced and had that influence been positive or negative? What roll, if any, had I played in making someone's life just a little bit better, a paying it forward type moment? And is that something we ever know or should we?
Question 2 was equally as difficult to answer. There were many things I would "do over" if given the opportunity, but the circumstances of the time made the outcome what it was. Similar circumstance might lead to similar results. It would only be the future that would tell if I really learned from my mistakes?.
I fall asleep often watching television. What I had not expected was to be 'abducted' by my thoughts, forcing me to reflect upon the quality and purpose of my life. Had this little experience been some kind of test?
The spaceship made a sharp turn and with a sudden jolt came to a stop, sending me sprawling to the floor. There I was, on the floor of a space ship.. in outer space.
As if by magic, I was picked up off the floor, put into a chair and placed under a series of bright interrogations lights. All I could see in front of me were sets of glowing bright green eye, thousands of them. The heat from the lights caused me to break out in a sweat. I remember once being told, “Never let them see you sweat!” But the lights were really hot and I was sweating.
There was a quiet buzz around the room. It did not sound like talking, but I was sure it was some form of telepathic communication going on among the 'beings' in the room.
As quickly as the buzz began, it was now silence. A pale yellow light moved directly in front of me. From deep within the light came a voice, a voice one might expect to hear from someone like Tom Brokaw.
“Do you know why you are here,” the voice asked?
I didn't have a clue, but I thought I would play along for a minute or two. Sometimes my curiosity gets in the way.
“Of course. You need a quick-witted, intelligent human from the planet earth to study in order to strengthen and enrich your new society and I am just the person.”
There was a roar of laughter. The voice cleared its throat and the laughter stopped.
“Well, maybe that's what you think. But that’s not the reason. I am going to ask you two questions and the answers you give will determine whether you return to earth.”
There was a sudden seriousness to the voice and I began to think that this was real. How difficult could two questions be. I'm a pretty smart guy, but just in case, i wondered if I had a lifeline, someone I could call? But I surmised I was now on my own.
“Question one. Name three people upon whose life you have had a significant influence.”
I began to think about all the people I had come into contact throughout my life; kids, parents of kids, clients, colleagues, friends, enemies, the people in the grocery stores. The more I thought the more difficult it became because I really didn't know if I had had any influence or not. I wanted to believe that I had, but.... I guess I really wasn't sure.
"Could we move on to question 2"
“Question two. Name one event in you life that, if given the opportunity, you would do over.”
That was easy! There were many things I would do over. Wait a minute. This was a trick question. Life does not allow ‘do-overs’. Life is an on-going process and while we do not get the opportunity for ‘do-over’, we do get the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and move on.
There was sudden silence.
As quickly as I had been whisked away into outer space, it was now dark. The only light and sound was coming from my television.What had just happened?
I know I hadn't been abducted by aliens. I had fallen asleep while watching television. But the two questions in my dream were stuck in my head. Who, if anyone, had I influenced and had that influence been positive or negative? What roll, if any, had I played in making someone's life just a little bit better, a paying it forward type moment? And is that something we ever know or should we?
Question 2 was equally as difficult to answer. There were many things I would "do over" if given the opportunity, but the circumstances of the time made the outcome what it was. Similar circumstance might lead to similar results. It would only be the future that would tell if I really learned from my mistakes?.
I fall asleep often watching television. What I had not expected was to be 'abducted' by my thoughts, forcing me to reflect upon the quality and purpose of my life. Had this little experience been some kind of test?
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