I have never been into sports. Professional basketball never held my interest.
Yet I knew the name Kobe Bryant. Hearing the news of his death via helicopter felt stunning to me all the same, even though I wasn't necessarily anyone who had ever shown much interest in him as an athlete. It brought back feelings of when Princess Diana died. Someone so alive and here one day, gone in an instant. Hearing the news of Kobe's daughter and the other passengers added to the heartache. And while there are so many sad stories every day that scroll through my newsfeed, this one just wouldn't let me go. I thought about it in my sleep and when I woke up. Perhaps it was thinking about Kobe's wife- who now needs to mourn a husband and a daughter. It seems so cruel and just so utterly devastating. How do you go on after something so tragic? How do you go from knowing everything about your child to having no child to hold anymore? How is someone so dear to you here one minute and gone forever the next? And how do you ever cope with such loss? I have no answers. I just know that all of our days are numbered. All of our time is limited. We think we have forever. We never know when we will leave this earth, yet we know at some point we will. What can we do? What can we do? Here's what I think: Live life in a way so that your memory may be a blessing. Treat people with grace. Give the benefit of the doubt. Overlook the insult. Move with integrity. Work hard. Show up. Listen. Laugh. Be more generous than you need to be. Always say thank you. Always say "I love you." Hug. Appreciate. Notice. Feel. Celebrate. We are here and so many are gone. Today we are alive and so we must live with urgency and gratitude.
4 Comments
Glenda Funk
1/28/2020 04:15:37 pm
I’ve thought a lot about Kobe’s death as well, but I’ve also thought about the focus on one side of his life while a horrific moment is also part of his legacy. A friend in another country messaged me last night and asked why Kobe has such stature given the totality of his life choices. I tried to respond but know my response is inadequate. In time, perhaps, there will be a more balanced reaction. For now, it’s the temporal, tragic nature of so many lives ending in what I suspect was an avoidable way that demands our attention.
Reply
1/28/2020 04:52:35 pm
It is so tragic - to be only 41, and for his young daughter to die, as well. I feel for his wife and other children. It was very sad. We must seize the day, live fully, now.
Reply
1/28/2020 05:41:49 pm
Powerful and poignant. Like you, I've never been a big sports fan but my husband is; he loved basketball of his life and played in college. This has affected him deeply on multiple levels. This tragedy - all the deaths, all the family members lost together, the absolute devastation - is haunting. Your point about never knowing - that's the truth. We never know when it's the last time we'll see someone. I love these lines: "Live life in a way so that your memory may be a blessing. Treat people with grace." How humanity needs to hear it. As Elton John wrote - and sang - in tribute to Diana after her untimely death: "You were the grace that placed yourself/where lives were torn apart." We must help one another heal. Be the grace.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorKathleen Neagle Sokolowski Archives
February 2024
Categories |