February 20, 2008

Randy Pausch - The Last Lecture

One of my flaws and one of my strengths is impatience (flaw) and patience (strength).

My impatience manifests pretty consistently with "forwards" that I receive via email. If it's printed and I see it's long, I usually immediately delete it. If it's video and the feed is long - same thing. Click. Gone.

The first part of this video (which, admittedly, is long) caught my attention, and I was locked on it.

Death.

Mortality.

Spirituality.

Sacrifice.

Peace.

Love.

Dr. Randy Pausch reprises his "Last Lecture" on the Oprah show. The segment is hosted by Oprah and Dr. Oz. This video has been shared and viewed over a million times.

Do yourself a huge favor and watch, at the very least, Randy Pausch's lecture. His strength and grace are rare, and are a beautiful gift to his fellow beings.

I've embedded the entire segment here, including the follow-up interview. It's a little long (about 10 minutes), but is a powerful message from one who will soon leave us. While it may be difficult to watch for those who fear death (me), it gives us some things to think about while we're still alive. Lessons and guidelines that may give you peace when your time does near.

"As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death."

- Leonardo da Vinci
Italian engineer, painter, & sculptor (1452 - 1519)


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