This week we learned of at least two brilliant minds which are being taken from the public square by debilitating disease. Of course, Steve Jobs is widely known for his work in the world of computers and electronics, helming the Apple empire, and leading his company to be the first-ever tech stock to be rated as most valuable amongst all others on Wall Street. Unfortunately, Mr. Jobs has now been forced to step down from his position as Apple's CEO due to health concerns related to his ongoing battle with cancer and other difficulties. The other brilliant mind is Pat Summitt, coach of the Lady Vols of Tennessee, who has amassed more wins than any other college basketball coach (men and women) in the history of the sport. Coach Summitt was known for her determined drive and staunchly well-maintained program which seldom saw any type of behavioral issues. Summitt has now been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, a condition which will ultimately and tragically result in the loss of her memories, personality, and cognitive function. It is a heartbreaking diagnosis for anyone to hear.
And so, although both individuals will attempt to continue in their contributions for as long as their health permits, the bottom line is that two exemplary minds will be lost from our collective intellect. Two people who have contributed so much, and would no doubt continue to contribute in wonderous new ways as long as they could, will now be sidelined in the near future. It is not only a loss for them and their families, but it also a loss for the entire world. Without pancreatic cancer and severe liver damage resulting in a transplant, what additions to the technological landscape could Jobs have helped usher in? If he could have remained in his position for decades to come, what more could he have envisioned and then conceptualized into reality? Certainly the past few decades have shown just how influential Mr. Jobs has been and would have continued to be in helping humanity progress towards a brighter, more convenient, and more efficent future. And then there's Pat Summitt, whose influence on women's basketball, her players, and college athletics have been tremendous. We can only assume that not only would she have continued garnering accolades and achievements without this heartbreaking diagnosis, but that Summitt would likely have also risen to even higher positions and projected even greater influence and success.
But the truth is we live in a world that has not yet defeated cancer, Alzheimer's, and many other diseases that bring about an untimely end in the lives of so many important and special people - whether they be well-known by many or well-known by a lucky few. Barring global catastrophe, we can assume that at some point in the future, research and technology will result in cures for these conditions, just as polio and smallpox have been annihilated through like means. But today, we are not yet there. And so the world will lose Steve Jobs... the world will lose Pat Summitt... and today and tomorrow, we will lose so many people who neither you nor I have encountered, but who mean the world to the people around them.
When we arrive at the day in which we can look at Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease, and so many other diseases, and say they were a thing of the past, we can be sure that there will be ethical issues to be answered. How do we manage a populace that lives into their 100's on a regular basis? How will we prevent super-enhanced longevity from being a right of only the wealthy or well-to-do? And can the earth's resources handle a humanity that lives so long at such high numbers?
But one thing seems to be certain: those are questions that must be answered and will be answered. For it seems to me that if we could keep beloved contributors such as Summitt and Jobs in good health, we would certainly do so. And indeed, what cost is too high to help our loved ones who suffer from these same issues? What cost is too high to keep ourselves and our families together in good spirits and in good physical condition for as long as is possible? In my humble view, the issues of longevity will be solved much easier than the oft-experienced issue of saying goodbye.
Today there are no good answers for Summitt and Jobs. For the many who will pass on in the coming days, weeks, and years, we will have failed to stave off death. Beyond that vale, they will join others who have moved on... and it is we who will have lost. One day then it will also be our turn, if not before. What is beyond that vale is for each individual to explore and speculate - but regardless of the afterlife, we can say that their lives touched so many, and we look forward to a day when we can help people like them touch the lives of even more. Just as their lights have shined here on earth, we hope, pray, and wish that their lights will continue to shine and do not dim for many days. And at some unknown point down the road, perhaps we will be able to keep those lights burning longer. Perhaps there will be a day when the lights do not dim amongst the stars of our lives. I'm looking forward to that day, whether I see it or whether it is beyond my span. We will likely never be immortal in body, but our desire to hold onto people like Mr. Jobs and Ms. Summitt will keep us looking for a way to fellowship with one another longer and longer.
And when that day comes that we arrive upon the end - whether it be after a hundred years, two-hundred years, twenty years, or a thousand - may we be ready for that day. May we finish having done good and done well.
Dedicated to the vigor, drive, and continued contributions of Steve Jobs and Pat Summitt. May their lights shine brightly today, tomorrow, and "for as long as the good Lord permits."
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