Most people know the tragic events that recently unfolded leading to the untimely death of Actress Natasha Richardson.
She was skiing on Monday in Montreal with her two sons. She was on a beginners slope, without a helmet, taking lessons when she apparently fell and hit her head. Although she was feeling fine immediately after the fall, about an hour later she was complaining of a headache and was taken to a Montreal hospital where she quickly began to deteriorate.
Why am I blogging about this?
Wednesday night I was having a conversation with a friend (on Facebook, of course) about the unfortunate events and my friend realized I was not getting overly excited about this story.
While in general - I will admit, I am somewhat of a celebrity junkie. Mostly because I am curious about all people. In fact, I love to hear interesting and outlandish stories about complete strangers, celebrity or not. But, while this particular story is sad, I realize that it becomes so public due to the fact that she is a celebrity, while the truth is, these accidents and those like it happen more than we hear, to random people.
When I think "ski accident" specifically, I think of Sonny Bono (former singer, partner to Cher and then politician) and Michael Kennedy. These two come to mind right away due to the "Celebrity" aspect.
But here is the sad reality - unfortunate circumstances and tragedy claim the lives of way too many people, and I don't want to minimize the sadness revolved around ANY ONE'S untimely death, celebrity or NOT.
At the same time that Natasha Richardson was officially declared - deceased, I came across two other sad stories.
An 18 year old girl from Colorado was pumping gas into her mini-van when a car accident between two other cars sent an SUV barreling into the gas pump causing an explosion. The 18 year old girl was caught between the pump and the car and was screaming for help while she became engulfed in flames. She, as you can imagine, did not make it.
A young man was hiking through desert in Israel when he entered into a mine field. He lost his foot at this time and called for rescue. While he was being airlifted into a rescue helicopter, he somehow came loose and fell to his death.
So I realize, it is not the "CELEBRITY" aspect that makes the tragedy so sad. Each of these people were young, at the prime of their life. One was skiing with her children, one chose hiking as recreation and another was just going about her day exhibiting those mundane chores of life, and that was it. Life, in a moment or a few is over for them as they know it. They each leave behind grieving family and friends. They left, probably with plans in place for tomorrow, for a week from now, for a year from now....
Each person had an equally worthy life. Each person has no future ahead of them. Each scenario makes me think about the importance of focusing on the depth in my life. I am reminded of what is truly important and what is not. I am reminded to not take for granted, each and every moment I have and all the blessings I have. I need to make the most out of today, because I do not know what tomorrow will bring. And I learn these lessons, not because a "CELEBRITY" was taken from this world too soon, but because, a "LIFE" was taken from this world too soon - because too many lives are taken too soon.
It is not through whom we learn the lesson, but that we learn the lesson well.
She was skiing on Monday in Montreal with her two sons. She was on a beginners slope, without a helmet, taking lessons when she apparently fell and hit her head. Although she was feeling fine immediately after the fall, about an hour later she was complaining of a headache and was taken to a Montreal hospital where she quickly began to deteriorate.
Why am I blogging about this?
Wednesday night I was having a conversation with a friend (on Facebook, of course) about the unfortunate events and my friend realized I was not getting overly excited about this story.
While in general - I will admit, I am somewhat of a celebrity junkie. Mostly because I am curious about all people. In fact, I love to hear interesting and outlandish stories about complete strangers, celebrity or not. But, while this particular story is sad, I realize that it becomes so public due to the fact that she is a celebrity, while the truth is, these accidents and those like it happen more than we hear, to random people.
When I think "ski accident" specifically, I think of Sonny Bono (former singer, partner to Cher and then politician) and Michael Kennedy. These two come to mind right away due to the "Celebrity" aspect.
But here is the sad reality - unfortunate circumstances and tragedy claim the lives of way too many people, and I don't want to minimize the sadness revolved around ANY ONE'S untimely death, celebrity or NOT.
At the same time that Natasha Richardson was officially declared - deceased, I came across two other sad stories.
An 18 year old girl from Colorado was pumping gas into her mini-van when a car accident between two other cars sent an SUV barreling into the gas pump causing an explosion. The 18 year old girl was caught between the pump and the car and was screaming for help while she became engulfed in flames. She, as you can imagine, did not make it.
A young man was hiking through desert in Israel when he entered into a mine field. He lost his foot at this time and called for rescue. While he was being airlifted into a rescue helicopter, he somehow came loose and fell to his death.
So I realize, it is not the "CELEBRITY" aspect that makes the tragedy so sad. Each of these people were young, at the prime of their life. One was skiing with her children, one chose hiking as recreation and another was just going about her day exhibiting those mundane chores of life, and that was it. Life, in a moment or a few is over for them as they know it. They each leave behind grieving family and friends. They left, probably with plans in place for tomorrow, for a week from now, for a year from now....
Each person had an equally worthy life. Each person has no future ahead of them. Each scenario makes me think about the importance of focusing on the depth in my life. I am reminded of what is truly important and what is not. I am reminded to not take for granted, each and every moment I have and all the blessings I have. I need to make the most out of today, because I do not know what tomorrow will bring. And I learn these lessons, not because a "CELEBRITY" was taken from this world too soon, but because, a "LIFE" was taken from this world too soon - because too many lives are taken too soon.
It is not through whom we learn the lesson, but that we learn the lesson well.
7 have shown Orah a little love:
It's true. Well put.
So true. I, too, am curious about people and their stories, celebrities or not. A life is a life, different of course, but both valued.
Hmmmmmm, well dont I feel shallow!
Totally agree with you though. A life is a life, but what struck me, was that one day she was alive and the next day, she was brain dead. For me, that is a tragedy in itself. She was a daughter, a mother, and a wife and her life was cut way too short. The fact that she was a celebrity should have nothing to do with the overall tragedy of the situation....and it really doesn't!!
This type of situation is so tragic when it happens to anybody. You make a good point.
You are an amazing woman.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this.
I agree. Very true.
So very true. Often, we look at one more than the other, but is so true.. thanks for sharing!
Hope you are having a nice weekend...
Stop by my blog when you get a second...I've tagged you!
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