Live fully until you die

Hello All,

I am a member of a newly formed book club with a group of incredible, dynamic women.  It is a wonderful way to see our world from different points of view – from the books chosen to be read and how each of us interpreted the book. We just recently finished reading The Immortalist by Chloe Benjamin. This book was thought provoking and based on this:

If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life?

Let’s just say that lots of conversation was generated by that question! Would we live our life differently? Would we live larger? Would we be paralyzed with fear if we knew our life were short? Would we take risks? Would we work on ways to make sure that day didn’t occur? Our discussion was fascinating. The consensus was we wouldn’t want to know the date of our death, though I know I have wondered about it.

The discussion about this book was fresh on my mind, and then the events of this past two weeks occurred. It make me think about two quotes. The first one is from Pema Chodron, an American Tibetan Buddhist:

“Since death is certain, but the time of death is not, what is the most important thing?”

I expect the answer to this is as varied as we are. Three things immediately came to my mind – love, kindness, making a difference. These things are very important to me, and are words I try very hard to live by.

This quote also made me think about the events of this last two weeks. The deaths of the American firefighters battling the wildfires in Australia – Ian McBeth, Paul Hudson and Rick DeMorgan. The deaths of our two brave soldiers in Afghanistan- Staff Sgt. Ian Paul McLaughlin (from Newport News) and Pfc. Miguel Angel Villalobos. The deaths of Kobe Bryant, his incredible daughter Gianna, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester, Christine Mauser and Ara Zabayan. Though my following words will be about Kobe, each of these wonderful people have made positive contributions to our world and impacted so many lives. Each one made a difference.

Kobe Bryant embodied so many important things – the love of his family and his sport, the commitment to his craft and being the best he could be, his devotion to raising others up (from his team to the students he worked with), and his zest for life. There is no wonder there has been such an outpouring of love! Kobe’s life may have been short, but the breadth and depth of his life were immense.

Shannon Alder, an inspirational author, stated:

“Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.”

Kobe’s life will be immortal because his name is carved on many hearts; he made an impact on many lives. There have been and will continue to be stories told.

Your name is also carved on people’s hearts. Your impact touches more people than you think.

Live your life fully. Let the breadth and depth of your life tell your story.

And one last thing. Take every opportunity to tell the people whose names are written on your heart how much you love and appreciate them. We achieve and improve because they are in our corner, in our lives.

With great appreciation and love to all of you. You make my life richer,

Phyl