Your Life Impact
This past week we experienced what can only be referred to as a shocking turn of events. In the span of two days, we lost three icons of the entertainment world - Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson. Most of us knew about Farrah's battle against the disease of cancer, and how she fought so courageously to defeat it. And to some extent, the tragic death of Ed McMahon can be understood on some level. He was 86 years old and had battled many health ailments over the last few years, and those were almost certainly exacerbated by the continuing stress he was experiencing with the decline of his personal finances. And then the news about Michael Jackson came across the wires, and the nation - and the world, really - was in a collective state of shock.
When we experience the loss of someone close to us, the grief can be overwhelming and it can trigger multiple emotions on a variety of levels - the effects of which can be profound. But there is also something that happens to us collectively when we experience the loss of someone we came to know maybe not on a personal level, but certainly through our interactions with them or their characters or their persona on the larger stage of life. We tend to see them in many ways as impenetrable, maybe even in some strange way as being above the fate that awaits all of us. Without being morose, the inescapable fact is that we will all die someday. It's just shocking to us when someone "like that" dies.
Over the past week, much has been written and said about these three giants of entertainment. Some of it not so kind, much of it speculative and maybe even judgmental. Today I am going to choose to view this from a different perspective. I believe that these peoples' lives are to be celebrated, if for nothing else than the tremendous impact they had on the lives of millions of us around the world. These three people were much more than the way that most of us saw them - as entertainers. Certainly that was one part of their persona, but they like us, existed on multiple levels and had many facets to their lives. They were much more than simply celebrities. They were a part of our lives in some small way.
They were somebody's children; they were parent, spouse, friend, philanthropist, actor, actress, singer, songwriter, dancer... and the list goes on. It's important to remember that there was more to them than the way they were presented to us in the media and on stage. They were human beings.
And what these three human beings did with their lives was nothing short of extraordinary. They touched the lives of millions of people around the world through the use of their gifts and talents. They brought laughter, joy, the gift of music and dancing, comedy and drama to millions of admirers and fans. The reactions to their deaths the world over is proof enough of that.
It serves to drive home a very relevant point to all of this. You too, are having an impact on the lives of the people and the world around you. It may not be on the same level of the three people we mourn today, but does it really have to be in order to be celebrated? Absolutely not.
Think about all the people you come in contact with every day. It could be a spouse, children, friends, coworkers, community, etc. When you interact with them, in whatever fashion, it creates an impact. The quality of that experience and its impact is entirely up to you to determine through the way you show up for those people.
You also have many facets to your life and your persona. You are son or daughter, spouse, parent, friend, coworker, coach, preacher, and many other possibilities. How you choose to be when functioning in any of those roles will create a lasting impression on the people in your life. And you can't downplay the significance of that fact. You may not be on a stage, a movie screen, or TV, but that makes what you do even more important. This is real life. This is what you and the people in your life will remember when all is said and done. Because in the end, we don't lie on our death beds saying "That (TV show, or movie, or song, or star) had such an impact on my life." No, in the end it is much more real than that.
What impact will you choose to have as you go forward in your life? The choice is entirely up to you.
