Greetings Beautiful Human,
We learn of people dying and dying tragically almost every day with nary a thought. But why do we respond so emotionally to news like the passing of Kobe Bryant and his ilk?
When we let famous folks into our lives, through our screens and devices, we feel we get to know them. We really don’t but we feel like we do. The more one attends to something or someone, the more space it takes up in our minds, the more intimate we feel towards it or them. And the more prominent the person or situation, the more dominant a role it plays in our souls.
When a person of notoriety passes, especially at a young age, their death has a significantly greater impact on us individually and societally. Often their death has a disproportionate effect on us to the point where it becomes unhealthy.
You becoming depressed or unhappy about a famous passing is not going to help anybody, especially you. So, what is the most effective way to walk through something like this? What now? What is the best approach now? One word, perspective.
Perspective is how we see things, how we view the world. Keep this tragic moment, and all tragic moments, in perspective.
Life is full of trials, tribulations and tragedies. As wonderful of a career that Kobe had, as promising as his future, that of his daughter Gianna’s and the other people who perished on that helicopter were, death is waiting for us all. Some may think that statement is morbid or uncaring. Not at all. It is a statement of fact, inevitability and truth. When one hears and embraces the inevitable and the truth, it causes forward motion in one’s life. It creates its own momentum to overcome the next hurdle, the next challenge, the next tragedy–all by just absorbing the truth.
Hopefully, news of a premature or tragic death, whether it be of the famous or someone of relative anonymity, causes us to tweak our perspective back to what really matters in life–love and the people you share it with. Love hard. Forgive easily.
If you love them, tell them. A lot. You never know when your last conversation with them will be your last conversation with them. How great would it be for the last words you ever exchanged were “I love you”?
I love you.
Please let me know how I can be of assistance to you and yours! Coach Glenn