What death taught me about living and other tales of inspiration.

When a number of celebrities die, the nation takes a collective breath and talks about the effect they had on lives. For sometime I've been sharing stories about loss and legacy. Thinking about living life with the end on mind and how people will remember me when I go. Famous people will always have articles about them, particularly when they die. They don’t need more words from me, so I am drawn to talk about more personal connections and how my life has been touched by those you many not have ever heard of, but affected those left behind profoundly. It’s a rough time of year for me, I’m sure many of you share that kind of experience. For some it’s the holiday season or whatever Hallmark holiday reminds you of the gaping hole in your heart someone once filled. This time of year marks the passing of several people I had the pleasure of knowing.

To set the mood, I share these eloquent and stark words my son wrote in a speech he gave at the end of high school. “You are one person, out of 7 billion, on one planet out of eight, one solar system out of hundreds of billions of solar systems, in one galaxy surrounded by trillions. In an infinite universe, you, everyone around you, everyone you know, have known, and ever will know is infinitely insignificant. And they will each die, including you.”