It's not what you have, it's what you give.
We seem to have accepted the fragile myth that we are in control.
We perceive our version of reality through a very foggy and a somewhat murky, half conscious mind. Much of our effort is spent in accumulating material things, and the more the better. The other part of our effort is comparing our conquests to those around us, to make sure they see and that we fit in. We have even built multitudes of storage lockers around us because our homes are not simply big enough to contain it all.
Material possessions are not intrinsically bad, it's what we do with them. Owning a Porsche and giving your friends a rides in that Porsche, are two completely different experiences. One gleams and has, the other generously gives. Microwaving an Swanson's dinner is a thing we have. Cooking Christmas dinner for the family is an gift, an act of giving.
At the end of our life, we will remember and indeed be remembered for all that we had given.
Give without taking and help without applause.
It's not the life you choose, it's the life you live.
I stole this from one of my favourite songs, proving that music really matters and that art is not a mere vehicle for entertainment or amusement; it is the essence of a well lived life.
We don't choose where we are born. The world existed long before we came along, and we embrace it as it stands divided and in war. We can't change that.
There is no use complaining that our parents didn't make the right investments for us, or that we didn't inherit enough. There is no use being envious that you don't own a cottage, or afford a vacation, or even the time off work to take one.
It's the life we live that is important.
Terry Fox wasn't special. He wasn't the first person to be struck down with cancer and he wasn't the first teenager either. Running across this beautiful country, ocean to ocean, was not a new idea.
Yet.
Terry Fox chose to live his life. He lived it fully. He died fighting, living without regrets.
He lived a determined life, and chose to dream for others.
The burden he carried and the life he lived, has make it possible for so many people to make their own choices. Choice that were otherwise determined. Freedom that should have never been possible.
He gave the time he had left.
He lived the only life he had.
And that has made all the difference.
