LIFE LESSONS
On Second Chances in Love and Life
“Infinity goes in both directions. There is no unique event, no singular moment.”
At the risk of revealing myself to be a huge dork, I’ll share that quote from one of my favorite TV shows of all time.
Now, it’s not a romantic comedy or even a fun little sitcom — it’s actually a pretty intense and action-packed police procedural — but that line delivered by one of the main characters struck a chord in my hopeless romantic heart.
Because if infinity goes both ways and no moment is truly unique, that means people can get second chances even for things they might consider to be a lost cause.
In love, where people break each other’s hearts all the time, and in life, where we fail even those who are most important to us, the knowledge that someday we can still get another shot at proving ourselves or fixing our mistakes, can mean the difference between moving forward and giving up.
Love Is Sweeter the Second Time Around
Here in Thailand, where a large percentage of the population practices Buddhism, the concept of second chances is not just a passing fancy. It’s tradition.
Samsara is a philosophy centered on the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, and it provides for its believers a near-endless set of chances to be reborn over and over again until they reach their soul’s completion.
Gan, a good friend of mine who’s been through more than his fair share of life’s greatest pleasures and sorrows, is one of many who can attest to the power of second chances.
He met his partner when he was just a boy, long before I even met him, but because of stupid mistakes and some really reckless decisions, he lost her and spent the next couple of years wondering if having regrets is all he’ll ever be good at.
It took forever, almost another lifetime, but eventually, Gan’s love returned to him. Older and wiser — and apparently not willing to wait for the next chance to come around — he didn’t look the gift horse in the mouth and grabbed the opportunity to make himself truly happy again.
A Fresh Start
Sadly, not all second chances are created equal, and some people might not even really get a clean slate for their biggest failures.
Gan just happens to be one of the lucky few, I guess, whose second chance came in the form of a beautiful woman who stole his heart over two decades ago, under a mango tree in his father’s backyard.
For the rest of us, carving a new beginning can take a while. Or even take different shapes which, at first, might not make sense to us.
All I know is that while reincarnation can sound like a majestic concept, a second chance in this life is still a shot worth taking. It doesn’t even have to be big or something that will change our lives completely.
Every day, we can choose to be better than we were the day before. Each time we wake up can always be our own version of a second chance.
