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reflections from a funeral for a life interrupted
yesterday i attended a funeral for a friend, a man who devoted his time, money and ultimately his life to helping other people. a man who worked tirelessly to create opportunities for others in housing, entrepreneurship and political access. a man who never let policy makers take the easy way out, who held others accountable and helped them make the city of alexandria a better place to live. a man whose life was cut short by the very people he worked so hard to help.
there were many speakers at his funeral, but some of their messages really resonated with me and i thought i'd share:
- we all know that tomorrow is not promised, but how often have you thought about the opportunities you have today? how often have you acted on those opportunities and how often do you let them pass you by?
- we all know that we can't change our appointment with death, but how much time do we spend preparing ourselves and loved ones for our ultimate fate? i don't mean the logistics of a will, an estate plan, life insurance. i mean the less tangible things: our legacy, our spiritual preparation (are you satisfied with your life and if not, what are you doing about it?), our relationships with our loved ones.
- not everyone is a leader and not everyone is a follower. wherever you fit in that spectrum, do you do it well? do you support your leaders? are you a worthy leader? if not, what can you do to play your role better?
i find it disturbing that it takes an untimely death to make people think about these things, but it is what it is. and now i'm thinking about them. hopefully by sharing this, someone else might think about it too! and then lenny's death, scratch that, lenny's LIFE will have touched one more person!
ETA: Lenny was most proud of his 501(c)3, Operation H.O.P.E., whose mission is "to enhance the quality of life for all citizens in the City of Alexandria thorugh services, resources, outreach and shared responsibilities." You can donate to his organization here: www.OperationHOPE703.org. As you will see, the organization hasn't been able to do much since Lenny's death in september (the most recent events are in august). i'm going to make a donation today, i hope someone else will join me!
Re: reflections from a funeral for a life interrupted
I would be happy to make a donation to his organization. I heard on the news about the festival he used to sponsor as well, I hope that will be able to continue even though Lenny is gone.
I don't know why but this whole case really pulled at my emotions since you first posted about him going missing. What a terrible end to an amazing life, and for what? A few dollars? So heartbreaking.
thank you!
yesterday, his cousin and brother committed to making sure that the One Love Festival go on as planned this summer. my family has gone every year and the kids really love it.