Life is precious. We live in the
world. Live your life.
These are words I heard on a late night NPR program on my
way home from a band practice with a group of Johnnies who gather occasionally
to play gems written and recorded in the 90s.
The words shared on this public broadcast were simple, yet, powerful
and thought provoking. Author Jonathan Safran Foer shared his first
point, that life is precious. From the miracle of birth to cherished
childhood memories to your first love to the many wonderful experiences one may
have through travel, with family or around good friends. I
think of my time at St Johns and realize how lucky I was to attend this school,
filled with outstanding young men and woman who had a huge impact on the
formation of my adult life. The experiences on campus and while
studying abroad in Greece and Rome all gave me reason to believe and understand
how precious life is. Locally in the
small town of Collegeville and globally in every country I have traveled to. I
also reflect on the birth of my son, while living in Hong Kong, my wife and I
were blessed to bring a new baby into the world. From day one we witnessed how
precious life is, and every day we learn something new.
As I anticipate my upcoming Puckett year, scheduled to start
in March of 2017, I think of my childhood baseball hero, Kirby Puckett. He clearly experienced the life is precious
concept in game 6 of the 1991 World Series. Making a game time catch
by essentially flying in the air to rob a home run, followed by a game winning
hit, he literally brought the State of Minnesota to a new level and extended
a magical World Series to a 7th game. Anyone watching that night can still remember
hearing the words "and we'll see you tomorrow night!"
Now as in life, balance provides many positive aspects,
including perspective and a grounded reality. Foer's next idea
is that "We live in the world" where normal every day events happen
and challenging things occur. People experience times of dull and
mundane as well as pain and suffering. There are many examples of
this concept throughout life and something that seems to be even more frequent
and real in once 30s when compared to earlier years. As of late, I’ve realized that life is in
constant transition. I clearly remember a few of my most difficult
life transitions including; leaving home for college, adjusting from college to
a full time job, becoming a parent, being let go from a company after 10 years, starting a new role within a new industry. Those
were uncomfortable times of change. We live in the world and that
comes with life's challenges. Kirby Puckett, a baseball legend, a
household hero, fell into challenges of health and personal issues in the later
part of his life. This was challenging to witness, as Kirby was a
hero to so many of us. However, we are
all human. Things happen. We all suffer. We in fact live in the world.
Now my favorite part of this trilogy is that we have the
opportunity to live our life. The third point brought up by Foer is
that one should "live your life". This
is an idea that you can fall into the trap of a fast paced life or a slow paced
life or feel pressured by many societal expectations. But you also
have the opportunity to choose how you spend your time, to live your life. Now this doesn't mean that everything has to be
perfect, in fact it’s the balance of the perfect and imperfect. It’s
a mantra to do things that you enjoy, even though life has it's challenges. Spend time with people that
energize you. Lift others up. Choose positivity and live your
life. A leadership mentor of mine in India reminds me often
"You have one life!". Live it. Enjoy it. The
gentlemen I have the honor of sharing this collection of posts with are
excellent examples of this idea. From leading an inter city school, to
working with Spanish speaking patients dealing with mental health, to raising a
family of beautiful inspiring children, to creating a successful local business;
these are just some examples of the many accomplishments from this fine group
of men.
This leads me to my last point that ties into all of
these. What I've learned during major transitions in life is that
they are often uncomfortable. New experiences rarely have
familiarity and if they do the transition itself can be uncomfortable. They
may lead to unexpected encounters or feelings. This may be fun and
exciting (life is precious) but it also can be daunting and scary (we live in
the world), however I've learned that these experiences of being uncomfortable
often lead to new levels growth and development and confidence (live your
life).
I can only imagine what it was like for young 24-year-old
Kirby Puckett when he joined the majors, perhaps exciting and scary and
uncomfortable. After his first two years in the big leagues, he
logged 10 consecutive years, a decade, as an All-Star. A true legend,
a hometown hero. If you find yourself in a time of un-comfort,
realize it also may be a time of growth. If you find yourself
comfortable, consider trying something that is not. You never know
what it may lead to.
I have been blessed with a wonderful life, a loving family, outstanding
friends near and far and once in a lifetime experiences.
Thank you for being a childhood inspiration, Kirby.
Thank you for your friendship and making a life long
impact, Johnnies.
Thank you to my family for all of the love, support and encouragement.
Life is precious. We live in the world. Live
your life!
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| Legendary friends, legendary times. |
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| We live in the (cold) world! |
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| Even our Christmas Card honored the MN Twins. |
