Real Life Characters
Last week, I received unfortunate news of the passing of a co-worker of mine for the last three years. It was a gut-punch, and while I won't go into any details, it was sudden and unexpected when I heard the news.
When I spoke about him, however, I felt like I had nothing tangible to say: "He was a great guy, a great guy to work with, someone I could ask anything about, very helpful, funny and sweet, super nice, well-rounded, dedicated to his family, just a really great guy."
What about his life story? What about his kids names? What about his credentials? What about his passions? I couldn't speak to any of that. When I was saying all those things above, when you think about it, I could be speaking about just anyone I worked with, or knew, or I could have been BS-ing. I thought to myself, "Geez, who am I to even talk about him, like I really knew him or something."
But, I did know him. I worked with him for three years, and while I couldn't write his biography, I could speak on his character. He was an individual with an unwavering amount of kindness and workmanship, and while nobody is perfect, he did (as far as I could tell) the best job at balancing his full life. At the end of the day (literally), that's probably all that mattered. I'm 100% sure that his family and close friends heard the same thing over and over about him which brings me to this:
Character matters.
Who you are and how you present yourself to others is what's remembered. Your life story, abilities, accomplishments, struggles and passions are all important especially to those you are close to. However, these things don't matter if you're a jerk, or an angel, because character goes much further. Depending on how often you move, change jobs or switch schools, a lot of people can potentially enter and leave your life. For me, I've encountered probably thousands in my lifetime, and that's no joke. If my name is mentioned to any of these people, if they even remember me, I wouldn't expect any of them to remember my life story. I would hope that they would remember me fondly (and I know they all don't...).
We're not always going to be on our best behavior, and everyone is bound to make mistakes or say the wrong thing. Apologize and move on, and forgive others for the same. It goes a long way especially when it comes to those in your immediate vicinity. Reputations form quickly.
Although I didn't see this co-worker as often since taking on the new position in July, it's hurts knowing that he's no longer going to be around- I couldn't even begin to imagine his family. He's someone that will be irreplaceable.
When I spoke about him, however, I felt like I had nothing tangible to say: "He was a great guy, a great guy to work with, someone I could ask anything about, very helpful, funny and sweet, super nice, well-rounded, dedicated to his family, just a really great guy."
What about his life story? What about his kids names? What about his credentials? What about his passions? I couldn't speak to any of that. When I was saying all those things above, when you think about it, I could be speaking about just anyone I worked with, or knew, or I could have been BS-ing. I thought to myself, "Geez, who am I to even talk about him, like I really knew him or something."
But, I did know him. I worked with him for three years, and while I couldn't write his biography, I could speak on his character. He was an individual with an unwavering amount of kindness and workmanship, and while nobody is perfect, he did (as far as I could tell) the best job at balancing his full life. At the end of the day (literally), that's probably all that mattered. I'm 100% sure that his family and close friends heard the same thing over and over about him which brings me to this:
Character matters.
Who you are and how you present yourself to others is what's remembered. Your life story, abilities, accomplishments, struggles and passions are all important especially to those you are close to. However, these things don't matter if you're a jerk, or an angel, because character goes much further. Depending on how often you move, change jobs or switch schools, a lot of people can potentially enter and leave your life. For me, I've encountered probably thousands in my lifetime, and that's no joke. If my name is mentioned to any of these people, if they even remember me, I wouldn't expect any of them to remember my life story. I would hope that they would remember me fondly (and I know they all don't...).
We're not always going to be on our best behavior, and everyone is bound to make mistakes or say the wrong thing. Apologize and move on, and forgive others for the same. It goes a long way especially when it comes to those in your immediate vicinity. Reputations form quickly.
Although I didn't see this co-worker as often since taking on the new position in July, it's hurts knowing that he's no longer going to be around- I couldn't even begin to imagine his family. He's someone that will be irreplaceable.
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