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Randy Pausch

Immortality is the genius to move others long after you yourself have stopped moving. - Frank Rooney

His rise to fame was like a comet siting: time specific, well-defined, yet limited. Randy Pausch was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and the video of his Last Lecture at Carnegie Mellon University circulated quickly by e-mail. The You Tube video that I've listed below, one of many available, has had over 6 million views as of today.

Randy Pausch's physical presence was also comet-like. We were transfixed by his bright and shining form, doing push-ups and laughing as no dying man is apt to do. Eventually, after many orbits, comets disintegrate and disappear, and Pausch too, died this year on July 25, leaving behind a wife and three young children.

Pausch viewed his situation as an engineering problem and decided to do the best he could with what he had. He considered himself lucky to have had the time to write a book, also titled The Last Lecture and written primarily for his children.

What I find remarkable is that we are all waking up everyday with the same fate as Randy Pausch. We may not have the x-rays and lab results to confirm our imminent demise, but we do have expiration dates, all of us. What would you do if you were given an exit date?

Pausch said that he chose to lecture because that's what he did in life. As a professor, he lectured. If you could leave a message by way of what you do best in this life, what would it be?

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Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?
I love that question! Make it a good day.

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture: YouTube (1:16:27)

Randy Pausch discussing his book, The Last Lecture: Google Video (17:10)

Ten Questions for Randy Pausch: Time/CNN.

Photo: MortonM

Not YET

My first e-mail message of the day was from my brother Jason, about a conversation between his wife and Kai, their seven year-old son:

I thought of you today, when Kai was bugging Heidi about how to use the Chinese ink/brush set and what the different pieces mean.

She said "I don't know, why don't you look it up?"

"I can't!" was his response.  "You want me to drive to China?"

"No," she chuckled, "you can't drive to China..."

"Yet!" he interrupted.  "I can't drive to China YET."
Now whether that means he can't drive yet or will one day build a bridge to China, I don't know.

I think Jason had recalled an earlier post about baby James, Not Full Grown...yet . I couldn't help but wonder if Kai remembered a conversation we had nearly two years ago when I visited them in New Jersey. I told him that I thought he was going to be tall enough to be a good basketball player and he promptly explained that he didn't have the muscles to be a ball player.

I said, "Yet".

He said, "Huh?"

I said, "You don't have the muscles, yet."

I swear that a team of CSI-types came out of him and took pictures, asked me to repeat what I'd said and taped my voice, measured his arms and legs, made me sign a written statement and then retreated back into Kai.

Kai is a remarkable person and I don't doubt that one day he could build a bridge to China, play basketball and drive to wherever he chooses to go. There are many things he's already capable of doing but I think he's just waiting for the acceptable age. The world's not ready for him....YET!

Photo:Kyle Reed

How do I Stop Complaining?

I ended the last post with the admonishment I've heard quite often in yoga workshops, "Never, ever, ever complain!" Since we are responsible for the outcomes in our lives, complaining essentially disputes that fact and places the blame on someone or something else.

Complaining is a habit that takes a lot of focus to overcome and I like the suggestions given by Steve Pavlina in his article, "How to Stop Complaining": become aware of and control negativity, begin to consciously create what you want, and assume total responsibility.

What Can I Do?

Question Of The Week:
What can I do that isn't going to get done unless I do it, just because of who I am?
-Buckminster Fuller 

   

Nobody does it better: the way you sing Happy Birthday, scramble an egg or signal another car to go before you. We all leave our unique heartprint when we act from our center. So Bucky's question is not directed to Nobel Prize candidates alone.

Just because of who you are, your choice of action, its execution and result, will differ from anyone else on this planet.

Here are a few links to blogs and websites offering suggestions and ideas:

• So What Can I Do? Karama Neal's blog lists a number of ways you can help to make the world a better place to live. Give blood, donate your time or unwanted personal items.
• What Kids Can Do doesn't tell you what to do, it tells you what kids are actually doing!
• Michael Moore.com in conjunction with his latest film SiCKO, shows you how to do something about the healthcare situation in this country.
• Fight Global Warming by educating yourself on the issues. You can do something small and simple like changing a light bulb.
• DIY, or Do it yourself. I initiated a search on Google with the words "what can I do?" and the links above came from the first two pages! You choose: help the world, help the hungry or just make those around you happy. It all begins with you, the center of your world.

Photo: Mindless Afternoon