I have another thought. Do we have more/greater influence in the lives of others after we die?
Here's the thought behind this. I'm going to be very candid and open here. Because I'm blogging more again, it makes me think of Forrest. But wearing jeans on Sunday - or high heels with my jeans also makes me think of him. :) When thinking of OP and our friendships - the Homers group - he is there. I think even if he were alive that I'd still think of him at these times. I'd wonder what he and Vernal were up too. How the boys are and how they have grown. I would probably facebook stalk them! ;)
However, I don't know if I would think about how short life is. How much influence one person can make. I don't think I'd be as aware of the importance to not be too uptight. But thinking of him, his personality, the ways he challenged us all to think outside the box while living in the box that "Christianity" ultimately can be/is - I think I personally appreciate that more now. Maybe as I have grown and aged I would have anyway? But maybe not? Maybe through his way too short life, I see more clearly the importance of his overall message and I'm less focused/caught up in the small details that often I could get derailed in. It wasn't that I disagreed with him always, I often agreed. I just wished (at times) that his technique was less in your face. But maybe it was only "in my face" because I needed the input he gave?
I have to admit. I have never met someone before or since that equaled Sam. He was a force that I often just sat back and watched from a distance. I hope that my life can somehow influence others. I know I'm not a Sam. :) I could never reach as far and wide across so many cultures as he did. I'm not talented like he was (I LOVE his art. I still wish I had one of his pieces.) I admired Sam, even though he drove me crazy and maybe more so because he did drive me crazy. I hope to pass on to others a little bit of what I learned from Sam. I'm just not sure if that influence will happen more so now, or later?
1 comment:
Very well said. In his short life he impacted a lot of people.
Probably the biggest impact he had on me was that he kept me in check. He was honest enough to say some things others wouldn't. I didn't always agree (viva la socks!), but I always grew from the discussion. He's deeply missed.
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