It's amazing to me, what death can do - what a ripple effect it has on the world.
Some of us make a larger splash and the ripples travel far and wide.
When I heard of Steve Jobs' death, I couldn't help but think of how "untimely" it was. Funny that we consider young people's death "untimely" because we feel like everyone should live until they are old and just pass away from natural causes. But, as painful as it may be, everything has it's own time - even death. And as much as it doesn't make sense at the time, there is usually good reason that this young person has been taken from us before we were ready to let them go. In Steve Jobs' instance, I am sure he didn't want to live with cancer for much longer than he did. It reminds me of something my husband recently said about my beloved cousin that is legally blind, who's sight will get increasingly worse as he gets older. We were talking about the future, about when we will be much older. I said something about us helping him when his sight is gone and how I would be so lost without him if his body and mind "gave up" and decided to leave this earth much earlier than I would like. My husband said, "how long do you want him to live totally blind?" As much as we want these wonderful people in our lives, how much do we want them to suffer because we want them to be here?
Steve was a true inspiration. Not many people I know have jobs that they love, something they long to do. Many of us do our jobs because we have to, to put food on the table and pay the bills. Steve's life was the example of your parents or teachers saying "you can be anything you want to be" when you were younger.
And the ripple effect goes on...in our little corner of the world, my kids grew up with Toy Story. Those movies are actually a little cornerstone in my children's childhoods. As a matter of fact, my youngest will be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween this year. I can't watch Toy Story 3 without crying. every.single.time. Steve was an Executive Producer of Toy Story and at one time Chief Executive of Pixar Animation Studios.
My heart goes out to Steve's family and friends. He was a husband and father - no matter what the rest of us think, those were his biggest accomplishments in his life. I pray that they find peace and comfort in this difficult time.
“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: 'If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.' It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." - Steve Jobs
