Filed under Just Me
Billions of people have lived and gone, but few change the world. Even lesser change it for the better. Two days ago, one of those who've changed it for the better has gone before us.
#thankyousteve
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Death is a daily occurring phenomenon, and yet each time it happens, each time I experience it happening, I am both saddened and inspired by how such a simple occurrence forces me into a time of reflection.
I don't usually cry when I hear of a stranger's passing, but Jobs is an icon, a giant of a man who has transformed the entire course of history and the way the world functions. I told my husband, that this one man has determined the way the economy functions, this one man has determined how the future generations would treat their own life's formal and experiential education, and this one man has provided even for the two of us, just little specks in the great tapestry of God's creation, the direction which we have chosen to lead our lives.
And we don't even know him personally.
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I've always been a big believer in that 'one man can change the course of history' philosophy. And for many many years, I've also been optimistically confident of my personal capabilities – that I'm important enough to figure and make an important difference, and influence people as I go on in live. Perhaps a part of me dreams of becoming someone important and prominent, as huge as Jobs, Gates, Zuckerberg, or like my own boss,… but of course, as I plod along in life, as each turn greets me with its several choices, I choose to have them be simpler and smaller, more 'manageable'. But inside of me, I've never quite lost that faith in believing that little choice of action that might affect the course of history, in a positive way.
This is why I've chosen to do what I do, work where I work. It's not a big deal, because there are many people like me, but among my own circle of friends, I've got people questioning my choices, and wondering why I took the step I did. I've never quite spoken about it here in my blog before, because, over the years, I've learnt to appreciate the value of privacy.
Job's death has impacted me somewhat. One of the most important lessons I've learnt from this icon is that you're never too old to start afresh, and never too old to be foolish. See, life can be a tiring rollercoaster ride. As a kid, as a younger person, roller coaster rides are easy, and fun, and the dangers of the twists and turns beckon you because excitement and thrills are things that we naturally seek. But as we grow older, and as life keeps hitting and banging you with its version of the roller coaster twists and turns, it's easy to become jaded, and to shy away from challenges. To stay safe and to fall back on the first excuse that comes to hand, 'I'm old already. These things are not for me.'
Obviously, Jobs was never the type to step back just because he was sick. So today, I thank Jobs, not for the gift of his inventions or innovations, but rather, for the inspiration demonstrated through the way he lived his life, documented in so many media. Today onwards, his words, borrowed from the Whole Earth Catalog will stick in my head as a life philosophy: 'Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.'
Don't Settle.
It's an important philosophy to have, even as I step into the dawn of my 30s.
