Inspirations

Sometimes I wonder, 'How many people really live life? How many truly look at life as an opportunity each day to love, to give of themselves, to make the world a better place? ... and how many people just flow through life ... existing at best?'

The teachers who inspire their students, the co-workers who know how to have fun and to call forth the best in their collegues, the parents who know how to spur their children on to excellence - usually have a relatively clear idea about what's important in life. These are the passionate ones who lead by example and who call us all to strive for excellence.

If we asked them to share with us the reasons for their commitment, some would wax eloquently and others would speak in very simple terms. Some would make their listeners cry but if they're sincere, they'll make their listeners believe that everyone is capable of living life to the full. Everyone is capable of walking the walk, and talking the talk, living life with integrity and making choices about what's important.

In recent days, two such presentations have come into my life. Both have caused me to sit up and take notice. I'm not sure, but I'm willing to bet that not every presenter is able to keep his or her audience sitting on the edge of their seats, and not every story that is told in public makes us want to be better persons. These two are exceptional:

There's a tradition at Carnegie Mellon University of 'The Last Lecture'. Usually, this refers to a parting presentation given by a professor who is perhaps moving on to another post, retiring ... in short, making changes in his-her life. Randy Pausch was different. He gave his last lecture to a group of more than 400. Subtitled 'Achieving your childhood dreams', this lecture has become famous in the world of pop culture. It has been published in book format and the video of this presentation is available online.

What makes this presentation so good? Well, Mr. Pausch is diagnosed with a terminal illness, something that usually makes people sit up and take notice of the things in life that are most precious, most important. Knowing that he only has a finite amount of time to make his mark, he speaks in simple but passionate words as he relates his take on the things that make life worth living.

The second example comes courtesy of a brain specialist by the name of Jill Bolte-Taylor. It's a part of life that the human body does some really strange stuff now and then. There is no logical explanation for some illnesses, and some of the most serious issues from a health perspective, including some of the most life-threatening occurences happen when we least expect it. If we're really lucky, to say nothing of being passionate about life, we can use these occurences as learning opportunities and teachable moments both for ourselves and for others. Most often, the most valuable lessons are learned when we discover our own weaknesses.

In a presentation entitled 'My stroke of insight', Ms. Bolte-Taylor speaks of some of the lessons she learned when tragedy struck, and the enduring quality of such lessons to truly make a difference in how we live our lives.

Whether we are fortunate enough to have many reasons to be thankful, or just a few, the key is to live life well. That means trying our best to be just in all matters over which we must ajudicate, loving passionately and tenderly, and walking humbly along the road that life lays out before us.