Death is a part of life, there’s no way around it. It hits differently though when someone we love, honor, and admire passes away.
When somebody like Kobe Bryant, Nipsey Hussle, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali or anyone in the same league of greatness dies it is felt all around the world. Even for those family members we value and hold with the highest esteem, when they die, we experience a tremendous loss. As unfathomable as it seems at times, our heroes will die eventually.
The physical body will eventually give up or give out due to natural or unnatural causes. This is why it’s critical to understand that the mind and body are two separate things. Just because the body is retired doesn’t mean the elements and energies that constitute the mind (and soul) vanish into thin air.
It’s important to understand that just because their physical body is no longer active, doesn’t mean that energy is dead. It’s been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that energy can not be destroyed, only transformed.
When our heroes die, that energy becomes accessible to those who know how to channel it. The essence of our fallen heroes lives through us.
What does this mean? We can use the life lessons, the blueprint for success, and the actual energy they left behind for our own betterment and empowerment. This in my opinion is the best way to honor our heroes.
It’s one thing to post quotes from Kobe on instagram, it’s another thing to learn, adopt, and apply ALL of those things that made Kobe one of the greatest champions of all time.
It’s one thing to wear a Crenshaw or Marathon shirt to remember Nipsey Hussle, it’s another thing to go back and follow the steps he took to rise above the circumstances of his environment and become an Icon for success and black excellence.
Whether we realize it or not, we can find solutions to most of our problems in the lives of those who came before us. Especially those who demonstrated an ability to succeed under the most unusual and demoralizing circumstances.
They have laid various blueprints for success, and if we really wanted to show how much we loved them, we would use the blueprint.
Our heroes are not truly “gone”, they live through us. All we have to do is follow their energy, embody their character, work ethic, passion, intelligence and dedication.
This is how the baton is passed, and the marathon continues…
