I just watched the end of the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Australia. After so many years of circulating at the back of the pack in a slow car, and after expecting to lose his job back in November when Honda withdrew from backing the sport, Jenson Button has won only his second race in Formula 1.
He has hung in there against all the odds and all the predictions and finally has a moment in the sun. So maybe life does give us second chances. Maybe if we hang on long enough and keep on hoping, and keep our hearts honest and our eyes clear, if we deal with our crushing disappointments and lost dreams without hanging onto bitterness and resentment, maybe we can hope for a new dream and a new start.
Maybe your career or your marriage or relationship is in the toilet. Maybe you've worn yourself out with tolerating the second or third rate out of a sense of duty. There's nothing wrong with duty, but we all know when we've lost the heart of something - it's unmistakeable, and it's deeply saddening. And who wants to live that way?
So there are second chances, for racing drivers, husbands and wives, lovers and fighters, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers. Don't dismiss them when they come along because you imagine there might be another one along in a minute. Think about how you'll feel when you're 80 years old, having not taken your second chance. I encourage you to try this - it's an incredibly sobering thought. And make sure to listen carefully - the drumbeat of life may be calling you.