Balance in Life - why wait for an accident to change our perspective?

The battle for life and death is ongoing within our bodies as millions of cells are borne and millions die at any given point in time. However, it is the balance between these two events that keeps us alive and healthy. The moment imbalance is set in either direction, our health and life is affected. So we don’t have to go outside searching to find out the importance of balance in life. We are engrossed in our material actions so much that we forget that intermittently there is a need to slow down and appreciate life for all the small and immaterial things around us. When the rains arrived yesterday evening, I was happy that it will bring some coolness in the atmosphere and we will get the uninterrupted supply of water without causing any disruption in our daily schedule (a very material thought). On the other hand I saw my daughter getting so excited with the first rains that she was jumping with joy and was asking many questions about rains, winds, lightening and its cause and so on. She was also wishing that the rains to continue with same intensity till next day so that she can get a holiday from school. Her exuberance was so contagious that I caught it and it created an enormous joy within me and I was suddenly free from all material thoughts. This change in thought process also reminded me about two posts that I came across that day on social media. The first one was about comparison between importance of winning (material gains) verses appreciating the relationships, especially when you suddenly face the loss of life of your near and dear once. The second one was about regrets expressed by a Guru who elaborated as to how he stuck to his ego (because he was right principally) and did not speak with his father or give pardon to his father inside his thought process for a long time. However, when his father passed away, he realized the importance of the time he lost during which he could have had a meaningful association with his father and he still carries that regret.

So the question is why we need sudden life changing events for us to slow down and appreciate life. Why do we behave as if our life is unending Formula One race and we cannot afford to slow down and appreciate the surrounding natural beauty from our car’s windows by looking sideways? And probably we wait for that accident to happen on the race track which will help us get out of the car and appreciate life in its entirety!