Get Busy Livin': Why We Need Perspective on a Daily Basis

One word that has confused me lately: perspective. As in, why does it take the worst things around us to use this word so freely?

From the shootings at the school in Newtown to the Boston Marathon bombing, I heard this word a lot: perspective. These tragedies make those who were lucky enough not to be affected by it to say that these horrible events give them perspective to what really matters in life: family, friends, relationships, love. In general, everything great in life.

But why does it take tragedies and bad things around us to get this perspective? Do we take life for granted all of the other days in life? Perhaps I take some stuff for granted, but I try to enjoy every breath I take and every moment I have with the people I love and care about. While I think we could all use a little perspective from time to time, I don't think we should have to rely on large-scale tragedies to make us realize things that we should realize all the time.

What inspired this perspective blog? It wasn't any of the items mentioned above, nor was it the recent tragedies in Oklahoma due to the unreal storms, including devastating EF-5 tornadoes that completely destroyed a city near Oklahoma City.




If you've seen the above video before, then you likely know the story of Zach Sobiech, who passed away on Monday after a 3.5 year battle with osteosarcoma, which is a cancerous bone tumor that develops in children (The video above describes it in more detail). During his battle with the disease, which he knew would take his life at a very young age, Zach adhered to the Andy Dufresne philosophy from Shawshank Redemption of "get busy living or get busy dying." Part of this living was through song, as he demonstrated above with his song that recognized his nearing death and unwillingness to let it define the rest of his time on Earth.

His family and friends knew of his fate too, and while it was hard for them to deal with the fate of their loved one dying way too young, they knew they had to have the same outlook on life that Zach had. It didn't do Zach or his loved ones any good to stress about the short time left he had when there was still plenty of living to do. So as demonstrated in the video below, they cherished every moment they had together (note, this video is a little longer but is well worth the watch if you have the time.



I recommend looking up his story if you want to know more details of what exactly he went through and some of the lives he's touched. I only learned of this story yesterday (unfortunately, after I heard that he had passed) and was amazed at the attitude he carried based on the video and documentary seen above. There's also a celebrity video that was created by Soul Pancake (a Rainn Wilson - aka Dwight Schrute from the Office - production) of people singing Zach's song.

It's stories like Zach's that justify the way I live every day. For we are all just like Zach, more than we realize. Our days here are finite, for all of us. We all wish to live as productive and as long of a life as we can, but there are no guarantees.

The main difference with Zach and us is that he had a really good idea of when he was going to die, so he decided that he would make the most of his time while he was still here. Just because we don't know our end date doesn't mean we shouldn't live like every day is important and every moment is important - because it is.

I know we all get caught up in life, which causes us to take steps back when shocking things happen that make us reflect. But at no time should we ever lose sight of what is or should be important to us on a daily basis: our loved ones, friends and family, the moments we have with them. That's something I will never need perspective on.

Keep On Running & How the Worst of Humanity Brings Out the Best in Many of Us

It's days like Monday, the day of the explosions at the Boston Marathon that took the lives of at least three people according to the most recent accounts, that make me realize the polarity of humans. 

On one end, you have a cold calculated person or group of people whose actions abruptly and tragically ended human lives. Frankly, it doesn't matter to me if it was carried out by someone or a group of international or domestic descent - an attack on humanity to me has no color or no country affiliation.

Some of the quick responders helping at the scene of the explosions (From CNN.com)

Which brings me to the other end. The brighter end of humanity. The one where first responders to such tragedies show no hesitation in trying to save the lives of strangers they have never met. Some of these heroes are law enforcement - firefighters, policemen, medical personnel. Some of them just happen to make themselves heroes, lending a hand to someone who may have been in the line of the tragedy. All the while, these folks have no clue if there's more explosions coming - whether it be out of bravery or just acting in the heat of the moment, these people run towards the danger as everyone else is encouraged to run away from it.

Former NFLer Joe Andruzzi helps an injured woman (Getty Images)

To watch the scene that took place after the explosion, with medics using wheelchairs to hurry people who were near the explosion, with people who were helping to carry those who may not have been able to walk anymore, it really does show how the worst brings out the best in many people.

The best stories I've read as it relates to the tragedy and how our faith in humanity can be restored in the same instant we think it disappeared:

• As the marathon abruptly ended with the explosions, I caught a story of marathon runners who kept running past the finish line towards a local hospital to donate their blood. From what I heard, enough blood was donated to help those who were affected by the tragedy.
  
• Those marathoners who may not be able to leave the city at this time have been offered places to crash by local Boston residents. In the face of hardship, Boston is lending its helping hand to those whose plans of leaving after the marathon may have been affected.
  
• Joe Andruzzi, a former New England Patriot lineman whose family knows a little about being first in line of an American tragedy (his three brothers - all firefighters - were first responders on 9/11), was near the finish line of the marathon as he and his cancer research foundation were hosting a fundraising party when the explosions hit. Acting as his brothers would, Joe was seen helping many who were affected by the blasts, as seen in the picture above.

If you dig deeper, there's plenty of stories just like this. Stories that show you how a nation of 300 million can  feel like a town of 1200, where everyone feels like family if only for a moment.

My Growing Faith in Humanity

Before today, I've learned of some of the generosity of mankind in the past couple weeks on a personal level. When signing up for a race called the Warrior Dash, the sign-up process asked if I would like to race  and raise money on behalf of St. Jude. Yes, yes I will do this, I decided. My company, as charitable as they come, has done something for me that no other place of employment has ever done - it has opened my eyes to the effects that charity and charitable work can do for a person/community.

Not only will I do it, I will do it on behalf of my cousin Marilyn, who passed away before even reaching double digits in age, dying months after her 8th birthday in 1989. I was only 6 at the time, but the effects of her death have affected my extended family in ways I would never want to imagine. Even though she didn't use St. Jude, it is children's hospitals that help kids like my cousin (and even my brother, who had hip issues as a kid and had to wear leg braces for many years) and make it possible for families to survive financially without having to worry about the extensive hospital bills that may come from extended stays.

In my fundraising efforts for St. Jude, I have been even more amazed. The generosity of people from all walks of my life has been nothing short of spectacular: family, friends, co-workers, even complete strangers who may know a family member of mine who promoted my charitable efforts. All of these groups of people have done way more than I've expected, donated much more than I ever planned (which has made me increase my ambitious fundraising goal to $1,000).

Before the tragedy, I already knew of this giving spirit. I could say it's because I have a great group of people around me, perhaps greater than anyone else may have - and I wouldn't argue with you. All of those groups of people in my life have a special place in my heart, not only for their donations but who they are as people.

Keep on Running

On days like this, it's easy for us to question the tragedies that happen. In many cases, we never get straight answers. In all cases, we never get good answers.

But as time has shown, at least in my recent memory, humanity also rises in these tragedies. No matter what the tragedy (whether it be what happened in Boston or New York in 2001 or many other countless examples of tragedies), the best of humanity shows its face.

When next year's Boston Marathon comes around, I expect the race to go off without a hitch. I also expect people to run in dedication of what happened in 2013. It will be tough for many people to run the race with the explosions in their minds.

But we are a resilient humanity. 9/11 didn't scare most of us from ever flying again, nor should these explosions scare marathoners from ever running the race again.

We must keep on running.