I’m sitting here on a Sunday evening watching the memorial service for Steve Jobs, and it brings me back to thoughts I had over the past several months about those who are no longer with us.
While Steve Jobs was no Jack Layton, so it can be said that Jack Layton was no Steve Jobs. And that is absolutely perfect. Both men had huge impacts – one in the technological realm and one in the political realm. I was moved by both men – not just in terms of how I felt when they died, but “moved” to action when they were alive and even since.
Steve
Steve Jobs co-founded a company that had little impact on me in my early years, but now has created products that I relish today. The iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air that I use every day are integral to my work. They make my job easier because I don’t have to think about using them. I just use them. They let me do what I do and get out of the way so that I can do it. There has been talk about how Apple users love their products – actually love them – and I’m one of them. Because they let me do what I love so that I can provide for those that I love.
Jack
Jack Layton inspired hope in me for what could be possible for Canada in the future. I’m not a fan of our current government and with the showing of the federal New Democratic Party in Canada in our last election I believe that a change is coming next time around. I still believe that. Jack Layton also made me think about how I could make an impact – maybe not by running for office – but that I definitely can make one and how I was going to go about doing it. I’m still working on that, but I have to give Jack credit for lighting that fire.
The Duo
Both men have fostered a mindfulness that has been growing steadily since I started to follow the path of what I really want for my life. Both men have given me the tools to make a difference – or perhaps, more accurately – a means to make a difference. I’m greateful for all of that.
Andy
Now Andy Rooney isn’t dead, but he’s no longer with us on a weekly basis. But when he left 60 Minutes a few weeks back, he said something that resonated:
“Writers don’t retire, and I’ll always be a writer.”
It looks like I’ll be fostering stuff1 for a really, really long time.
1 Mainly words.
