Not many of us think about dying (at least I don't). Okay so I've had a few moments of "What if..." especially when considering the question of adequate life insurance. However, not many of us know when it will happen, or have a general ballpark for reference. Randy Pausch did. He was diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer and instead of wallowing in self-pity, he managed to inspire so many others with his upbeat attitude toward it.
Honestly, I didn't know of this man until I saw the article on CNN.com. I was intrigued by it and watched the lecture on YouTube. This is the kind of person I would like to be should the circumstances be similar. He is well-liked and very personable with a good sense of humor and engaging personality. I wish my college professors were this great. More so than the delivery system of his lecture is the message behind it. He celebrates his life and all the dreams that he was able to accomplish. He is no way in denial, purposely bringing up the "elephant in the room" but doesn't focus on that, he doesn't want to leave a lasting legacy, etc. He just points out what he wanted to accomplish as a kid and how he went about doing so managing to live all his childhood dreams with the exception of one: playing in the NFL and I don't think we can be disappointed with that.
More often than not I get caught up in stupid, superficial crap and when I watched this lecture I realized that there is so much more to life than that. I hope that my kids are able to look at me when I come to the end of the road and be as proud as I'm sure his kids are of him.
Turn that frown upside down, or at least sideways.
No comments:
Post a Comment