When the news of Steve Jobs’ death was broadcast around the world, I joined with others in mourning the loss.  I viewed mementos and memorials in his honor in worldwide locations and in his hometown of Cupertino, California.  Photos stirred memories of my first encounter with a Macintosh computer in the late 1980’s which forever changed my interactions with technology.  Computers became user friendly – without the complications of the Compaq 386.  (Which, I’ll have you know was a huge improvement over the 286, although there are many of you reading this that have no idea what it means to boot a computer or could even conceive the thought that only one program could run at a time – really, truly.)   Flash forward twenty years and I stand in awe, eyes wide with wonder, as a group of us goggle (not google) at the new iPhone (2007) another friend had purchased at its inception.

For me, the death of Steve Jobs became a time of quiet reflection in my own life, it brought back moments of how this one man’s vision had impacted my life in such a positive way.  And yet, as I pondered his brilliance, I also learned that he too struggled with the everyday issues that each of us wrestle with on some level: the balance of work and home, finding simplicity in a very complex world, and the reality that sometimes relationships can be difficult and it is hard to find middle ground.   I am amazed at how he chose to live out his last days, surrounded by those he was closest to and turning away others. He knew that time was, and always will be, a precious commodity.

The death of Steve Jobs nudged many of us, myself included into thinking about life and death.  This quote has been posted and reposted, and I add to the repetition because I believe many of us get trapped by other’s thoughts and sometimes through death we get a gentle reminder of how to live life.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.

Marlayne Whitlock, MA
mwhitlock@GROWCounseling.com