The Moment You Let Go Might Be the First Time You Were Ever Present

“I just let go of the wheel and accepted it. I didn’t feel fear. I felt peace.”

Brad’s story doesn’t need embellishment. It starts with a car going over 100 mph toward an intersection. It ends with him crushed into a 4-inch-wide space inside what used to be a Volkswagen GTI.

But somewhere between the speed and the steel, Brad let go. Not just of the wheel. Of control. Of identity. Of resistance.

And when he did, he encountered something most people never do: a moment of absolute presence.

Why We Asked That Question

We asked Brad: “When you saw the lights and let go of the wheel… were you afraid?”

It sounds like a simple question. But it’s not.

Because people don’t fear impact. They fear the loss of control before it. They fear what it reveals. And what Brad revealed was this:

The accident wasn’t the crash. The accident was how he’d been living.

The real impact didn’t come from an 18-wheeler. It came from the realization that he had been running from his own life.

What That Moment Taught Us

Brad thought he was chasing freedom. Partying. Speed. Baseball. Rebellion. He thought those choices were his. But they weren’t. They were defaults.

Programmed reactions. Fear dressed up as confidence. Survival cloaked as momentum.

But in the stillness of that moment—just before impact—something emerged. Not terror. Not regret. Peace.

And that peace didn’t feel earned. It felt given.

Brad described it like being cradled. Like being held in the hand of something greater.

He didn’t just survive the crash. He woke up from the life that led to it.

What This Means for You, the Listener

Let go of the word “accident.” This wasn’t a freak event. It was an intervention.

And not every intervention comes with flashing lights and crushed metal. Some come in the form of patterns you refuse to question. Relationships you won’t leave. Habits you justify. Speed you don’t slow down from.

Ask yourself:

Am I actually living with intention… or just reacting to a life I didn’t build?

Brad’s story isn’t just about a car crash. It’s about presence. It’s about how letting go might be the first conscious decision you ever make. https://www.throughtherough.net/podcast/episode/d0f6d5f5/surviving-the-crash-how-one-moment-changed-brads-life-forever