This month I am reposting a blog I wrote almost three years ago to
the day. It was about Elie Weisel. His spirit continues to be a gift to us. In
honor of him and his work:
I am not ashamed to say that I adore watching Oprah Winfrey. I may
not be globally considered the most intellectual of thinkers to admit this, but
I suspect I am not alone. It’s not so much the celebrity interviews and Master
Classes, although I enjoy those as well, but her conversations with the great
thinkers, philosophers, teachers, humanitarians. She does us all a great
service by allowing us to hear them.
Today I only had a bit of time to watch an episode of Super Soul
Sunday with Elie Weisel. I knew of him, of course, and even missed an
opportunity to hear him speak due to unforeseen circumstances. What an
incredible spirit: Humanitarian, author,
teacher, human rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner. She talked with him
about his recent brush with death and serious open-heart surgery. He expressed
his thoughts upon being faced with death and said, “I have so much left to do,
to read, to write, things to tell my loved ones, friends to embrace,
conversations to have. I wasn’t ready.”
I thought, if after all he has
accomplished, he feels he has just begun, I need to be listening. Instead of
feeling that a person’s “time” has passed, perhaps it is just beginning.
Instead of winding down, it’s really all just preparation for what is ahead.
I constantly am reminded that every day, every moment can hold a
lesson. Even the face of this man moves
me. In spite of man’s many missteps, he believes in humanity.
“Whatever you do in life, think higher and feel deeper. Life is not
a fist, it is an open hand.”
-Elie Weisel
