Always strive for GOODNESS not GREATNESS.
Sunday and Monday were heavy days and honestly, today doesn’t feel any lighter. I’ve been trying to navigate through feelings of disbelief, grief, sadness, and confusion. In the moments of sadness and grief, I’ve found myself questioning and feeling guilty for having such strong emotions toward someone that I never met. As I’ve been scrolling through people’s posts, reading and listening to what’s on their hearts and minds, it’s been so beautiful to see the encouragement left by complete strangers…but it’s also been shocking to see the negative comments telling them that their feelings are self-serving and brought on by desires to be part of a trend.
I want to let you know, it’s okay to feel affected by the tragedy that occurred on Sunday. It’s okay to feel sad. It’s okay to feel numb. It’s okay to feel whatever it is that you’re feeling because guess what YOU ARE HUMAN. To be affected by the loss of human lives, whether you knew them personally or not, is to be human.
My mom has always taught my brother and me that we were created to be GOOD not GREAT. For someone who is always striving for perfection, I found it difficult to understand why I needed to stop at GOOD. I get it now. Mom, I get it, thank you. We’re constantly surrounded by pressure to be the best at whatever sport we play, the best employee, the best student, the best ____ *you fill in the blank*. But when are we ever pressured to be the best at being human?
To be the best at being human is to be GOOD. Good to others, good to yourself.
Why do so many of us feel so much grief over someone we didn’t know? Because he impacted us. Here’s the thing though, his impact isn’t this intense because he was a GREAT basketball player. His impact is this intense because he was a GOOD human. He was a good human who taught us the importance of perseverance, the rewards of sacrifice, the influence of kindness, the joy family, the power of faith, and of course mamba mentality.
First, Kobe was a GOOD human. Second, Kobe was a great basketball player. Sure, Kobe’s great basketball skills made him a celebrity and household name, but Kobe’s goodness is what inspired and impacted billions of us.
ALWAYS strive for goodness. Goodness impacts. Goodness creates changes. Goodness is what we are called to be. Goodness transcends greatness.
Let this week serve as a reminder to all of us how far our actions and words really reach. Let this week serve a powerful reminder of the goodness we are called to spread and the greatness we are called to achieve. We’re all mourning because one individual helped awaken pieces of ourselves we never knew we had, inspired us to be better, influenced us to DO good. YOU, my friend, have the same power within you to make the impact Kobe did in this world.
You don’t have to be a great basketball player to have the impact Kobe had, you simply need to be a good human.
I want to close with two quotes one from Kobe and one from a close family friend.
“Be who you are called to be and you will set the world ablaze. Sometimes God works through you to leave marks in the lives of people you may never know until you reach home” – St. Catherine of Siena & Br. Vinh Pham LC
‘The most important thing is to try and inspired people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do” – Kobe