Thursday, June 25, 2009

Our Little Lives

Two larger than life icons of the 1970s and 1980s are gone in one day. Is there any more proof of how fragile and fleeting life can be? How many of us wasted time today, fretting and fussing over inconsequential things? "Miss So-and-So" took too long for lunch; "Mr. Such-a-Body" was rude to someone on the bus; oh, drat, I have to pay the phone bill and the hydro bill -- again... In the alternative, how many of us take pleasure in the fact that we can simply walk down the street, enjoy the fresh summer air and look at the gardens as we stroll by. And at the end of the day we can wash our faces, brush our teeth, and climb into our warm, cozy beds. Most of us don't really appreciate these ordinary, day-to-day things but they are -- in fact -- miracles. These folks will never experience those things, ever again.

Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd tow'rs, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.


... Prospero, "The Tempest", by William Shakespeare

Enjoy your lives, cherish your family and friends, appreciate all the things you have -- no matter what their value. And remember to value yourself too, because you really are unique -- one of a kind.

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

... Oscar Wilde

22 comments:

Judi said...

Thank you for posting this. A part of our collective memory has died.

Country Girl said...

Bravo, dear Josie. You've found the perfect sentiments to accompany this tribute.
Fragile and fleeting it surely is.

Katalyst Ofmine said...

“Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see Life with a clearer view again.” - Alex Tan

Leslie: said...

A touching post, Josie. I felt so affected by Farrah's death and then the terrible jolt about Michael Jackson's sudden death about did me in. I love the quote from Shakespeare - it puts it all in perspective.

TheChicGeek said...

Lovely tribute to two greats!
Thank you!

Jennifer D said...

Well said Jo. I am delighted by the photos you chose to use, beautiful

Scoobyloves2004 said...

I agree with you, life is too short to be fretting about senseless little mishaps in our day to day lives. I was sickened as I watched the coverage of Michael Jacksons death on ETV and they broke in to show Kate (John and Kate plus 8) wearing a blue bikini. Is that more important than a life being lost?

ivan said...

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz.

John said...

Thanks for posting such a lovely tribute. I especially love it when you add those quotes.

We got a double whammy today and both are gone much too soon.

Anonymous said...

Jo, great post, I especially like the quotes you chose, I was shocked by the sudden unexpected death of Michael Jackson. Such a sad figure, and the embodiment of the tragic nature of celebrity. His death is sad but reading about his stress filled life and sad and brutal childhood is even sadder.
Life is very fragile.

Charles Gramlich said...

And was it yesterday Ed McMahon died? And a couple of weeks since David Carradine. And Don Coldsmith, a western writer of some fame died today as well.

Burcu said...

Yes maybe i couldn't catch the times when Farah was one of the angels of Charlie but Michael Jackson was a great composer, dancer and singer for me since my childhood. I don't care what people think about him, or how mad he was. The important thing is , he was following his profession in best way!
I couldn't believe when i read from newspaper that he passed away.

So sorry really.

the walking man said...

But these people had their time in the sun as well Jo...as did everyone else who passed to the sleep of death yesterday. While I am not unsympathetic to their families I see no reason to think losing either was any greater than the child in Memphis who died of bone cancer yesterday.

PhilipH said...

Millions die every day. It is part of life. When someone close to us departs it is then that we are shocked.

Some celebrities seem close to us even though we have never actually met them. They, in turn, have not known us. Yet we are still shocked. Remember Kennedy? Princess Diana? Elvis?

We accept death as an everyday occurrence; we have no option. I know the shock of these two deaths, sad though they are, will fade.

What is truly tragic, imo, is when your child dies. This is one loss that you can never erase from your mind. Everything is relative, as per Einstein again.

muthu said...

Mj s --they don't really care about us-- has always been a inspiration for me....


His songs-- has changed the entire perception of the way people look at the music of the 80s....

He made his mistakes & he had his share of celeb scandals...

But he made good music.... no great music....

And in his music-- he will be remembered and will last 4ever...


I loved the quote... it brought everything under perspective..

The Panorama said...

Nice post, Jo. I can't believe MJ is gone. Even Farah Fawcett. Everybody has to die one day indeed but when people die of cancer or (painkiller) overdose it feels as if their death is untimely.
MJ will be sorely missed. Been listening to his music all day. R.I.P both of you.

Brenda said...

They entertained us well didn't they. Three famous Americans died this week. My TV watching has been scarce this past week, so I didn't know about MJ until my daughter got home and told me. Nice post Jo. I love the quotes that you chose.

Nancy said...

Very nice. Thanks.

Patsy said...

Jo-- I don't know what to say. Just some years ago Michael Jackson was suffering the slings and arrows of a rabid press and perplexed and angry people -- angry over the Neverland scandal, or the nose jobs, or the white face, or the masks or dangling his baby over the railing in Germany.

Today everyone speaks well of him, shed tears for him, and all is forgiven. That is just the way it seems to be in this all too short life.

I for one am so curious about that THRILLER album; I never bought it but I know people who did. What I admired most about MJ was not his singing but his amazing dancing and moving talent.

Goodbye Michael, goodbye Farrah, and one more: Goodbye, Ed McMahon. Another piece of our past has fallen away.

~~Lorna

Land of shimp said...

It's amazing how wonderful most of our lives are when we stop to consider it. Years ago I was sitting around in something of a blue funk. I'd been injured in a car accident, the injury was permanent in nature, but not physically devastating. Basically I was 27 and facing a situation where I would almost certainly limp for the rest of my life.

I was very disgruntled about this state of affairs, and as I sat pondering my bad luck, it suddenly struck me that my brooding was solving absolutely nothing. To break my mood, I decided to name aloud five great things in my life, small things, things I didn't normally notice. "I love the smell of my shampoo..." was how I started.

It worked, I realized that there was still a lot of sunshine in my life. Even though I had a year's worth of physical therapy ahead of me, every time the PT really invaded my train of thought (it could be rather painful) I'd force myself to name five great things, "Breakfast this morning was delicious..." etc.

It still works to this day, and that was fifteen years ago.

I have no idea if this is related or not but I don't limp, by the way. Sure, sometimes I do if I overdo it, or spend a lot of time on my feet, but 80% of the time, you'd never spot the injury.

I think it's pretty amazing what focusing on the good things in our life can do, even for just a few minutes a day. I think it gives us the strength to fix the things that perhaps aren't great, but at least could be better.

Well, I've blathered on :-) Sorry. I was just agreeing wholeheartedly with the spirit of your post. If you focus on the negative, that is what you will see, and eventually be.

Take a moment, and find the good, look directly at it. You'll feel better.

Susan English Mason said...

Yes! And I especially must remember to be grateful.

Paula Slade said...

Beautiful and thoughtful post Jo. Thank you.