Godspeed, Joe
The one thing that we are guaranteed when we come into this world is that we'll be leaving it eventually. Some of us leave it tragically young. And some of us lead long, fruitful lives. Some of us waste the life we're given, and some of us do amazing things. Some of us live lives filled with love, and some of us are strangers to love. But, at some point, we will shuffle off this mortal coil. That is both cruel and wonderful, in equal measure.
President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive prostate cancer, which has spread to his bones. That's never the news one wants to hear. We shouldn't kid ourselves about his chances.
But Joe has lived a long, fruitful life. He has not wasted his life. And he has lived a life filled with love. We should all be as fortunate as him. We should all strive to live a life of service to others, and be remembered with fondness.
No one will remember those who snipe at him. They will fade into obscurity. No one will remember those that hate him. Hate is paid by forgetting. Those posting hateful and vile tweets are little people, living lives of moral poverty. These are the days in which we live, where anyone has access to vent their spleen. They don't matter.
What matters is that you live your life in such a way that you leave the world better than you received it. That is how I try to live my life. I learned that from the village which raised me—my parents, my grandparents, my brothers and aunts and uncles, my friends. Nothing else matters. Not wealth, not fame, not power. Those are ephemeral things of no importance unless they serve others. What is important is how you affect those around you, for both good and ill. That is how you will be judged.
Pain and suffering are the lot of humanity. So are joy and bliss. How you react to each of these is how you measure yourself and are measured. Living a life of grace is not just good for those around you, but is the easiest way to live. Hate is easy, and thus of no value. Love is hard, and thus to be cherished. But once you love and are loved, everything becomes easier. You can bear the pain and the suffering. And the joy and bliss fill your soul in a way nothing else can.
Godspeed, Joe. Whatever your immediate fate, know that you have lived the kind of life to which we should all aspire. You are a good and decent man. And that's something to be honored.