The Best thing you can do is Live!
I find myself thinking a lot about George Floyd lately.
I remember a week after his death my mother wearing black, mourning his death, while going to the shops. The conversation with my sister during that week about the significance of life, and how important it is to live, regardless of your circumstances.
We don’t know George Floyd, and we are thousands of kilometres away from him, his life and surroundings. But his death impacted us and most of the world. His death was a catalyst for a resurgence of a much needed discourse and action, on race and race relations.
George was in his forties. He was not a civil rights leader nor was he a person who has the traits or markers of a martyr. He had moved to Minneapolis in search of a better life. In fact (from an interview) his best friend said he had sent him boxes of clothes to help him settle in, in his new surroundings.
I’m sure life had dealt him a few curve-balls and he had done what he did to navigate them and live. As Prof. Galloway said: Your successes and failures in life are not entirely your fault.
Even in his wildest dreams. Even in his families wildest dreams.
He never thought that at that stage in his life, he could have such an impact on the world. His death has done more than many who seek out to be symbols of change can ever achieve in many lifetimes. How did he do it?
What was the magic thing he did? (as those who like to study, model and emulate would ask.)
The magic thing he did was to live. He just lived life until he died.
He couldn’t have planned that. His experiences were laid bare on camera phones around the world as he took his last breaths.
We often try to do so much in our lifetime. We compound our lives with so many expectations and pressures that at the end of the day when we fall short or fail to meet them — we start to think that maybe life is not worth living.
As Human beings we are very fragile. All we need to survive can be sought from the earths crust. Most things we need come from 2 meters(6 feet) of the earth (nobody lives below ground). We are very superficial. Everything about us screams Surface.
Why do we do this to ourselves?
Why do we conflate created superficial expectations, in our minds and societies, with life?
Why do we weigh them the same?
A friend said to me: The ultimate power anyone or anything can have on you is the ability to take away your life. He gets it.
