40 Years


 40 years is a LONG time.  40 years ago today John Lennon was shot and killed.  It was a long time ago and yet it is still fresh.  Every year is a painful reminder.

I look at my son who is older now than I was on that day in 1980.  If this were a normal year, he'd be walking the same high school halls that I did on December 8th.  That kind of floors me.

I think back to what we, the world, lost that day 40 years ago.  We lost a musician.  We lost a poet.  We lost an activist.  We lost a writer.  We lost...

Although not a relative or friend to most of us, we mourned together.  Many of us still do on this day.  Some publically; some privately.  We mourn the loss of  all the things I mentioned above, but above all we mourn the loss of a man.  We mourn the senseless loss of life.  We mourn what could have been and never will be.

Some are still angry that this happened.  Angry that this could still happen.  Angry that we, as a country have still not done enough to prevent such violence.  (I'm not just talking about gun control, but about addressing mental health issues.)

We wonder.  We wonder what music there might have been.  What he would have thought about x, y or z.  Some say with conviction that he would have done this or that.  But no matter how much we think we know, we don't know.  We can't know.  

What we CAN know and what we CAN do is to continue to honor his memory.  John Lennon was hardly a perfect person, but from my perspective as an adult (and I fully admit that I had a different one as a hormonal teen), he tried to be a "good" person.  Like us all, he did "bad" things and stupid things, but his legacy has thankfully focused on the positivity that he brought into this world.  

To that end, we can live and share his messages of peace and love.  We can use our voices to speak out for those who cannot.  Even in a Covid world, we can (safely) protest injustice.

Perhaps, most importantly we can pass down his story to those who do not know it.  (I know, for me it's difficult to understand that there ARE people out there who don't know John Lennon, but there are.)  It is our job, especially today, to share the music and the message.  Because they are powerful.  Because they HAVE made a difference and can continue to do so, if WE make it so.

So give peace a chance and remember, all you need is love.

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