A lesson before dying
Your Friday morning inspiration. Bring an extra box of Kleenex. (Hat tip - Scott at Power Line.)
Here is Professor Pausch’s webpage.
Posted in: End of life issues
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- Around The ‘Sphere September 23, 2007 · Articles
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Categories: End of life issues
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Thank you for sharing this Michelle. I was deeply moved. I plan to pass it along.
Our Universities can use more Professors like him.
Wow. Just wow.
PS. Prof. Pausch, we just painted our 6 year old daughter’s room liliac with a deep purple accent wall.
I’ve made remarks on FR about this. I dissent from the general applause, and find myself considerably troubled for the effect of such grand paeans to death. For what but death gave the story any wings at all.
I consider such behavior drama queening, even incitement to glorious suicides.
bvw, you are a pathetic and bitter person…and also pretentious… “paen” puleez…
I don’t think you read the article or viewed the video. The lecture was about living life to its fullest.
You’re right Michelle, the story is about living, not dying. Great story. Great lessons.
Thanks Michelle for sharing this heart-warming story.
Pray for all our sick and dying and their families.
This is why Velcro was invented, for people like you that arent able to tie their own shoe’s.
“Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things.”
What an amazing statement.
bvw … i forgot to add, you are also a Grand “paean” in the butt…but i guess you probably knew that…
and furthermore, why pray tell, would you assume that anybody cares what your opinion is on this story anyway…?
Oddly enough, The Simpsons took to this subject in one of the early seasons. Homer eats Foogoo and is given 24 hours to live. Dig out your dvd’s and watch. Not a bad treatment of this weighty material at all.
Aj - you’re cracking me up today….
Ain’t that the truth!
Thanks, and TGIF!
It seems like the Last Lecture Series request draws out valuable lesson for us all, in that, focusing on real values and life’s really meaningful events allows us to understand that many of our daily activities are insignificant and trivial when viewed as a whole. Those on the far left beating down others as they go through life would have real trouble putting together more than 10 honest seconds for such a series.
Thanks Michelle for sharing this honorable and humble man’s struggle.
What a courageous attitude. We can learn from his example.
On a side note; BVW - come back when you develop a soul.
“Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things.”
Awesome statement!!
Reminds me of the Apostle Paul as he writes in his first epistle to the believers at the Congregation in Corinth, in regards to those that have fallen to sleep.
1 Corinthians 15:53-57,
“For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written,
“DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
As we say in the Marines, “Pain…..is weakness leaving your body!”
Rio
Semper Fi!
I managed to watch and read it despite my monitor getting all fuzzy and blurry, I’ll have to talk to my IT guy about that…seems to be better now.
My sister-in-law is a school principal and I thought she might enjoy it, she just sent it on to all of her staff…..I included the fuzzy monitor warning!
bvw……na, never mind, you’re getting slapped around enough today.
I am commenting solely because I feel for bvw because I have been in bvw’s shoes before having made comments of the same general tone. I’m just going to throw out a bit of defense.
Just because someone is not particularly moved by such a story does not make him soulless, pathetic or bitter and certainly doesn’t effect one’s shoe choice. Some people just don’t get all that gushy over such things for myriad reasons. For various reasons I find stories such as this to be trite, tiresome and eye-roll inducing. However, I no longer say so out loud as I find that people who are engaged in being touchy-feely emotive, upon hearing that one does not share their angst, suddenly become angrily emotive and call one bitter, pathetic or soulless and offer opinions on what type of shoes one is capable of tying or question of the value of the dissenting opinion.
I am not intending to rain on anyone’s parade here, to single out anyone and I certainly have no intention of offending anyone. I’m just surprised by the invective. Bvw made no personal comments towards anyone here yet received very personal comments (attacks?) in response to the sin of disagreeing. I have seen the membership ignore much more provocative commentary in the past. *shrug* Now I’m going back to not commenting on this type of article. Have a great day!
Deepdiver and bvw, apparently neither of you understand how low class it is to make such comments on this type of thread.
I understand that you don’t really care and aren’t moved by the material presented, but why act like a chode and ruin it for everyone else that finds it inspiring?
That’s why you got the less than positive reaction, but you knew that already, didn’t you?
Take your negativity elsewhere.
No but it was certainly out of place to accuse the Professor of using his own death for grandstanding and self promotion. If the story isn’t particularly moving to you I find it odd that you or bvw would come to the thread and watch/read it in the first place let alone comment, and I realize you would not have commented without bvw taking the abuse. You can put me in the category of “I don’t get it”
What a fine example of a human being. I wish more universities had faculty like him. Michelle, thanks for the link, this sort of news story seldom makes primetime TV, I might have missed it completely had you not brought it to note. BTW… I ordered the DVD from CMU.
Recently, I heard a very impressive line about life at the close of a movie:
“Beginnings are scary. Endings are usually sad, but it’s what’s in the middle that counts. So, when you find yourself at the beginning, just give hope a chance to float up. And it will.”
Old Tanker: I came to the thread and read it because until I did so I did not know that I wouldn’t find it of interest or moving. I read the comments to the thread being that just because I didn’t find the story and video enthralling didn’t mean that I wouldn’t learn something from the comments. It is a very erudite group that posts here and I find something of value in nearly every thread. Perhaps that clarifies where I am coming from a bit. Thank you for acknowledging that I wouldn’t have commented except as stated.
PBBoilermaker: As I said in my earlier post, it was not my intent to be negative or a “chode” as I alluded in my last paragraph. If comments to bvw had been, as you stated, along the lines of “that was low class to post that in this thread” or “you don’t have to like it but quit trying to ruin for everyone else” I would have said nothing. It was the invectives towards bvw that caused me to post. Your comments, minus the “chode”, are what I would expect from the commentors on this site. It was not the rebuffing of bvw that caught my attention as I knew it would be forthcoming as soon as I read his post. It was the manner of rebuffing that I thought inconsistent for this site and from the vast majority of people who comment here. Then again, perhaps because I was not emotionally vested in the story, when I read bvw’s comments, I took them entirely differently than others did.
I can see how one could read my comments in a voice that would allow a different take on where I was coming from. If I had been making those comments in person they would have been said quietly and calmly with a shrug. Once again, I did not intend to cause an issue or upset anyone with my comments and to anyone who felt my comments interfered with their enjoyment of the thread, I apologize.
Not one alive knows when his moment of death is.
When faced with what seems certain death, what should the response be?
To proclaim “My death is at hand, I accept it! And here are all the great things I’ve done, look at them. And here’s all this great wisdom, more potent to your ears because I await my death with serenity and one handed push-ups.”
There at the gates of sickness that death seems the certain outcome, do not accept it. Do not be a gentleman to death.
There was, I think — in those pushups, in that virtual-worldish “My Last Lecture” a sense of denial of the opportunity he now has. Those who have themselves been too close to a situation like his might know.
Why are you there, we does your own body work towards your demise? Wrestle with it, through day and night and day again. That, I think, is the purpose. Not to accept it.
Deepdiver, I understand the comments in response to my post, even the motives for them. I hold nothing against those who make them — they are normal reactions. Even healthy. With teeth we bite — it shows we have a chance to chew on solid food.
Death is a mighty subject when it becomes personal.
I faced my mortality in my early 30’s, and for the next three decades didn’t have fear as part of my life. My spouse felt the same way. But, dying is the final act of life. No one can escape it. Much as I thought I was prepared for death, when my husband died it was the greatest pain I had ever or hope to ever experience. But facing your own demise approach without the ability to fight against, yet still “not go gently into that dark night”, was I think what the Professor was all about. I read the article and saw the video a couple of days ago and it is still with me. I appreciate that such a human being exists and I was able to be a part of his life even if only for a nanosecond.
This is what humans should aspire to. This is how we should try to live each day. I wish him and his family well for what ever time remains for him.
His lecture is definately a keeper and we can only hope it makes it way to youtube (I don’t have the geek in me to it!)
While it has been said that every man really dies, not every man really lives.
Consider what you would do if your doctor gave you the news that you are going to die in your early 40’s with alot of life ahead of you..
For me I want to go skydiving, rocky mountain climbing, went 2.7 seconds on a bull named fu-man-chu, loved deeper and sweeter-so people I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying. (can’t remember the artist
For alot of us who post regularly on MM, we have faced our own mortality on deployments or in combat, and seen death in more ways than mere mortals should have too. But in the end, I hope we can all face our final moments of life with the serenity and dignity that Dr. Zaslow has shown. In the coming months, the people that will be in need of love and support will be his lovely wife, and three boys-may we all not forget that.
Take care and Godspeed doc—-
Deepdiver, I am sorry for grouping you into the “chode” assessment and I see where you are coming from.
I still think bvw’s posts in this thread are in poor taste, but he is his own keeper. I still consider him chode-like in his behavior.
You are right about the members of this site…they are, from what I can tell reading posts, genuinely good people (trolls excepted). In the future, you don’t need to stand up for people like bvw. We believe in personal responsibility here and we are expected to stand by our own comments, not make excuses for ourselves or others.
BT
Gunslingerpatriot, great post.
“A lesson before dying…Your Friday morning inspiration.”
A month ago I traveled to see my favorite aunt who was dying from ovarian cancer. I wanted to say goodbye. She wanted to see me. She had been a big part of my life as a teen and even as I grew up and moved far away, we kept in touch and we cared deeply for each other.
Even as death was overcoming her, she inspired me. She was barely able to speak, but she did, telling me how she had always loved me and even recalling some good memories we had. She never complained, cried or even acted distressed except at what was obviously visible to me.
I looked at her and found new meaning in the word “brave”. We hugged and kissed goodbye and she passed on a week later.
Sorry to digress with my own story, but the story of Professor Pausch reminded me of how wonderful it is to be able to share your last days on this earth in such a positive way with those we love and care about. Many of us have experienced loss of someone we love or care about without a chance to say goodbye, or even blow a kiss.
Thanks, Michelle.
Awesome, Michelle. Items like this really hit close to home for me right now, having recently lost my father to a sudden, massive stroke. I think about how he lived his life, and the fact that though he died unexpectedly, he really had no reason for regrets.
That’s the lesson I took from him…we think that maybe, I can afford to be mean or rude to someone because I can make it up some other time. I can let someone down because maybe later I’ll make it up to them. Well, sometimes you won’t have that time to do it in. You make everything count, and never have to worry about how you’ll be remembered. We don’t all get second chances…it’s best to make the first one count whenever you can.
On Free Republic, and there with more decency in reply from those those having alternate viewpoints.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1899853/posts
bvw-
Nice link/sarc on. What a poor and pityful man(or woman) you are with a soul that is dark with hate and where beauty can’t thrive.
There is nothing any of the bloggers can say to change you, but only Yahweh can reach the depth of your blackened soul. Either you can come to Him as a friend or face Him as your judge, and believe that the followers of Yahweh on this blog will be judged to have been “good and faithful servants” for reaching out in Christian love to you and DD.
Professor Randy Pausch will be missed, and Michelle is to be commended for bringing his story to light, and will continue to keep Dr. Pausch’s family in my prayers.
gsp, Charmed, I am sure. And, btw, speak for yourself. Can you? Or are you afraid to engage without claiming everyone else has your thoughts — *we* call that the “imaginary army” approach to discussion.
I’m using the Imperial “we”. I mean “me”.
*We* see we have run afoul of your belief systems. The nasty, vicious and ad-hominem reaction is an strong indication that *we’ve* cut certain cherished yet false beliefs to the core.
What could they be? Think on that and answer without acrimony and bitterness if you can. It seems the bitterness you ascribe to *us* is your own, sir. The nastiness of responses is the tell.
Ad Hominem:
http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/ad-hominem.html
Yes it is! I saw this video here shortly after I had hung the phone up with my husband and jokingly told him that I would be beating my head against a brick wall if he needed me for anything.
We are facing what feels like insurmountable troubles right now with a serious bone fracture injury during OCS training. Also one week to the day prior my son called from Iraq to report he would be the getting a Purple Heart… not what I wanted to hear. 2 soldiers, 2 wounds, 1 week, and my husband’s is career threatening. Thank God my son’s was minor.
Brick walls, huh? I guess my guys must really want to be soldiers since they decided to plow forward and straight through the mess.
I do think that it is an incredibly wonderful gift that this man is giving his children. They will be able to look back on his videos and see their dad reminding them that even death can not steal your determination.
Oh and that should read “Even the threat of death can not steal your determination.” Doh!
Michelle, without self-search, a “new message to you” flag blogs such as yours are not a public discussion, they are the emperor’s cheering section. While it’s nice to be King it doesn’t advance the discussion much. What you have developed here — as this thread shows — is a gang posse’s attitude, not evolving discussion.
That’s why I’ll stay at the places that DO allow full public participation, like FR, at least until you and the other bloggers open it up.
There on FR at least a reasoned minority opinion has a chance.