Pure Joy
Although I do not follow sports games or teams, there is occasionally news about a sports figure that even I cannot ignore. Such has been the case with the recent death of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose´ Fernández, age 24 who died in a boating accident on Sunday, September 25, 2016. The death of any young person, especially one who had defected from Cuba at age 15, went on to become a baseball star and most recently, was excited about the pregnancy of the woman with whom he had a relationship might catch my attention. The fact that he seemed to be well liked might also have caught my attention. Yet, what really made me stop and pay attention was hearing someone on an NPR program report that several people described him as pure joy. The same person went on to say that he was wise enough to know that baseball was a game to which he gave his best. He was also a jokester. Yet, as much as I admire these qualities, pure joy really caught my attention and left me smiling.
I thought, “What an amazing tribute to a 24-year-old person – pure joy.” Normally, when one thinks of pure joy or certainly when I think of pure joy I think of a very innocent, healthy infant who has yet to suffer and is delighted with all the discoveries of his or her senses of sight, smell, and touch. I seldom think of adults as pure joy. There are many who I think bring or have brought great joy to many; people such as Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Dali Lama, and Pope Francis. Some of the recent Olympic winners also brought a sense of passion and joy, but I do not recall any of them being described as “pure joy”.
The mother of his forthcoming child, family members, his unborn child, teammates and other will grieve for this young man who so tragically died and, yet, in that brief 24 years he managed to achieve what few of us have or will achieve in a 100 years of life - the legacy of pure joy. I am sure he felt other emotions and, yet, the one which seem to remain with all he touched was joy.
I suspect that many of us are capable of such a legacy but our tendency to take ourselves, our job and this life journey very seriously keep us from living such a life. Many Thanks to Jose Fernández for a life and legacy of pure joy.
Written September 26, 2016
Although I do not follow sports games or teams, there is occasionally news about a sports figure that even I cannot ignore. Such has been the case with the recent death of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose´ Fernández, age 24 who died in a boating accident on Sunday, September 25, 2016. The death of any young person, especially one who had defected from Cuba at age 15, went on to become a baseball star and most recently, was excited about the pregnancy of the woman with whom he had a relationship might catch my attention. The fact that he seemed to be well liked might also have caught my attention. Yet, what really made me stop and pay attention was hearing someone on an NPR program report that several people described him as pure joy. The same person went on to say that he was wise enough to know that baseball was a game to which he gave his best. He was also a jokester. Yet, as much as I admire these qualities, pure joy really caught my attention and left me smiling.
I thought, “What an amazing tribute to a 24-year-old person – pure joy.” Normally, when one thinks of pure joy or certainly when I think of pure joy I think of a very innocent, healthy infant who has yet to suffer and is delighted with all the discoveries of his or her senses of sight, smell, and touch. I seldom think of adults as pure joy. There are many who I think bring or have brought great joy to many; people such as Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Dali Lama, and Pope Francis. Some of the recent Olympic winners also brought a sense of passion and joy, but I do not recall any of them being described as “pure joy”.
The mother of his forthcoming child, family members, his unborn child, teammates and other will grieve for this young man who so tragically died and, yet, in that brief 24 years he managed to achieve what few of us have or will achieve in a 100 years of life - the legacy of pure joy. I am sure he felt other emotions and, yet, the one which seem to remain with all he touched was joy.
I suspect that many of us are capable of such a legacy but our tendency to take ourselves, our job and this life journey very seriously keep us from living such a life. Many Thanks to Jose Fernández for a life and legacy of pure joy.
Written September 26, 2016
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