thought: why live for tomorrow when you can give all of yourself to today?
i had planned on writing more about relationships tonight...obviously they are a huge thing on my mind right now. people deal with them all the time. but, some pretty major things happened today, so the theme of tonight's blog changed. it only makes sense.
Thursday, June 25 2009, we lost some pretty major pop culture icons. The first was the lovely Farrah Fawcett. She was 62 years old and died of cancer. Many people in the 1970s had the "Farrah hair" or watched her on Charlie's Angles. She was a very good actress and a beautiful woman. Many guys may admit to having that famous poster of her on their walls...yes, you know which one I'm talking about....the red swimsuit and that blanket. Don't pretend like you don't.
Also on Thursday, the one and only King of Pop, Michael Jackson, passed away. It looks like reports are coming in saying it was a heart attack. He was 50 years old. Jackson was known for being the youngest member of the Jackson 5, which consisted of him and his brothers. He then went on to become a star in his own right and sadly, like many child and teen stars, his career went down hill and so did his life. They are saying that he was about to make a huge comeback with a new tour starting in July.
It's interesting to see how the world reacts when we lose a star. The news covers it, tabloids are all over it, and fans go into mourning. It's like we've known these people our entire lives and feel close to them...even though we've never met. Makes me wonder how people are going to react when I die. Granted that's not for a long time, but still, what will they say?
People are sad about both of these deaths...but I've heard (and am guilty of this) different reactions. With Farrah Fawcett, it is sad and she will be remembered for the things I listed above, but she will also be remembered for how she has dealt with the illness. She handled it with grace from what I've read and she was a fighter. With Michael Jackson, on the other hand, people, especially younger ones, are reacting completely different from those who grew up listening to him. Jokes are being made and people are remembering him for the molestation accusations made against him..."boy scout troops can sleep safe again"...it's sad.
So, what about me? I haven't done anything like these two have. No one has posters of me on their walls. I haven't started a fashion trend or coined dance moves. Nor have I had a highest selling record or have I starred in a show that will be idolized for years to come.
What have I done? I listen to people and try to offer help and advice when I can...I like to make people laugh...I like being there for people and having them know that they can count on me...when it's all said and done, does it really matter if I make lots of money and am famous? No. It would be nice for a while I think, but those things aren't eternal. You can't take them with you...
Here I am, writing this blog at 1am so that I will try and sleep better. I am listening to a classical music station on pandora.com (which I am hooked on...pandora, not classical music) and am wearing sweats, glasses and a mouth guard. How will that inspire people? I mean, it would be cool if the "right" person stumbled onto this blog and I became famous...but what would people say about me? "That's the girl who wrote a blog before bed every night...shes so cool, I'm going to start wearing a mouth guard too!"??
No. That's not what I want. I want people to think of me in a good light...as some one who loved life and tried to live each day to the fullest. I want to be remembered as some one who defied the odds and over came challenges that were thrown at her. I want to be remembered as loving, kind, compassionate. I want to be remembered as someone who laughed...a lot...not obnoxiously...but because she was full of life. I want to be remembered for being the person God created me to be.
As I sit here and think about the grief those families must be having, I also am thinking about how much they must crave for one more day with their loved one. What about words left unsaid...things that could wait until later...there is always something else that could have been done with that person. That is why I don't want to live for tomorrow...I want to be all about the now and today. Yes, it is wise to think about your future and not to live spontaneously all the time...but don't worry about it. Jesus tells us not to worry...it's somewhere in Matthew...Chapter 6 maybe? (Yes, we definitely talked about worry in staff devotions today!) So I won't worry about it...Why waste the time and energy? It's not worth it...
Please, smile, laugh, and give that one more hug good-bye...you never know when it's going to be your last. A friend of mine mentioned that earlier. He said that he was laying in the street looking under a car and thought that if someone had come flying down the road that he would be gone...just like that. Oh all of the things he still could have done...the people he could have said "I love you" to one more time...what would have happened? Does he live his life in such a way that there would be no regrets about putting things off? I think he does...that is how I aspire to live me life. I am regret free. Say what? Yes, I don't have regrets...just things that I might could have done differently...I learn from everything. Even the really, really bad things. No regrets. No worries. It's all good...If I go now, I am know that people will say good things about me. I've lived a good 20something years...learned a lot...did a lot...overcame a lot...life has been good to me. No, I was never famous and probably never will be...and no one may ever read this blog...but does it really matter? Not at all.
Here is to living life to the fullest and not waiting until tomorrow to do things that can be done right now.
- And yes, I did use a Smashing Pumpkins lyric to name this blog...thank you Rock Band for introducing me to the song
- It also should be mentioned that earlier this week TV game show host and icon, Ed McMahon passed away. The past year of his life was filled with not so pleasant things and people again are remembering him for those headlines not for this famous opening line to the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson..."Heeeeeeres Johnny!"
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