Why does it matter?

Image credit: HuffingtonPost

“Popular”culture was hit hard in 2016. We are all reeling from it in our own way, with our own experiences and meanings. For me, all the people involved were “close to home” in geography and generation, either my parent’s or mine. All these people made a mark, good or bad, and so left their impression on my psyche.

Each group spoke to me in their own language. The musicians through words and music, the performers through their physical presence, the world leaders through their ideologies, the athletes through their “thrills of victories and agonies of defeat”, and the scientists who opened my eyes to see the world in a new light. In this way, I didn’t just grow up with them but through them.

They inspired me. I strove to emulate the good and avoid the bad.

They often gave me courage.

They often gave me pride.

We are social animals and so we cling; we look for community, for a place to belong. These individuals were part of my community. I belonged with them. Now they have physically departed and have left a gap. Their legacies, however, live on.

And so, it matters because we hold a place for them. Whether the place is in our mind, heart or soul, in some way they were part of us. 

Like a child with magical thinking, I wish for 2017 to hurry along so the dying can stop.

Sarah McLachlan:  I will remember you...