Gone too soon

It’s All Souls’ Day.

I will open today’s column by reprinting this short, short story by Jeffrey Archer:

Death Speaks

There was a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the market-place I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture; now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there death will not find me. The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went. Then the merchant went down to the market-place and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning? That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.

What did they say again? Yes, death comes like a thief in the night.

Meanwhile, as we mourn for our own dear departed, let’s say a little prayer for local celebrities (you know who they are, don’t you?) and foreign ones who are gone too soon, listed by People magazine as follows (some of the 65 mentioned):

Princess Diana (with Prince Charles)

• John Lennon (1940-1980)

• John Belushi (1949-1982)

• Princess Grace (Kelly, 1929-1982)

• Karen Carpenter (1950-1983)

• Ricky Nelson (1940-1985)

• Steve Irwin (1962-2006)

• Andy Gibb (1958-1988)

• River Phoenix (1970-1993)

• Kurt Cobain (1967-1994)

• Selena (1971-1995)

• Margaux Hemingway (1955-1996)

• Gianni Versace (1946-1997)

• Princess Diana (1961-1997)

• John Denver (1943-1997)

• John F. Kennedy Jr. (1960-1999)

Gianni Versace

• Christopher Reeve (1952-2004) and his wife Dana Reeve (1961-2006)

• Freddie Prinze (1954-1977)

• Brandon Lee (1965-1993)

• Elvis Presley (1935-1977)

• Freddie Mercury (1946-1991)

• Luther Vandross (1951-2005)

Let me end today’s column still by reprinting this poem which should serve as an eye-opener for all of us:

Live a Life That Matters (by Anonymous)

Whether you are ready or not,

someday your life will come to an end.

There will be no more sunrises,

no minutes, no hours nor days.

All the things you collected, whether treasured or

forgotten, will pass to someone else.

Your wealth, fame, and temporal power

will shrivel to irrelevance.

John Lennon

It will not matter what you owned or what you are owed.

Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and

jealousies will finally disappear.

So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans,

and to-do lists will expire.

The wins and losses that once seemed so

Important will fade away.

It won’t matter where you came from, or on what

side of the tracks you lived at the end.

It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or

Brilliant, even your gender and skin

color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value

of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought,

but what you built; not what you

got, but what you gave.

John F. Kennedy Jr.

What will matter is not your success,

but your significance.

What will matter is not what you learned,

but what you taught.

What will matter is every act of integrity,

compassion, courage, or sacrifice that

enriched, empowered, or encouraged others

to emulate your example.

What will matter is not your competence,

but your character.

What will matter is not how many people you knew,

but how many will feel a lasting loss when you are gone.

What will matter is not your memories, but the

memories that live in those who love you.

Steve Irwin

What will matter is how long you will be

remembered, by whom, and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident.

It’s not a matter of circumstances, but of choice.

Choose to live a life that matters.

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