Do you ever find yourself pondering upon this ever so confusing phenomenon we call
Life
Perplexed at the notion that, ONCE AGAIN, a terrible thing has just arbitrarily happened to yet ANOTHER extraordinarily great person?
Death has never really affected me in the ways that it affects most.
Maybe it's shock.
Or maybe I'm just emotionally inept?
Who knows.
Oddly enough, I found that today hit a bit different.
Pondering the loss of an exceptional public figure was one thing, though pondering the loss of a 41 year old man, husband, father, son, brother...
was another.
I immediately realized that the concept of death, in and of itself, is undeniably overlooked.
Because life moves at 105 mph,
We tend to pay little, or NO, attention to this unequivocal notion of eternal rest, so to speak.
Life just keeps on..
keeping..
on, nonetheless.
Do you ever find yourself deep in thought, catering to the notion that if someone like Kobe Bryant,
A quote on quote
"Untouchable"
passes away in such a wicked, hellish, and indubitably repulsive way, those closest to us pose equal potential to do so as well?
Dejected, to say the least.
But why dejected???
I've never even met the guy!
Although,
When looking upon the ways in which his death has affected all those closest to me, I took it upon myself to reflect.
Kobe 'the G.O.A.T' Bryant.
This man encompassed an utter sense of both loyalty and benevolence, in its purest of forms.
A mentor.
An activist.
A dawg.
"Pain doesn't tell you when you ought to stop. Pain is the little voice in your head that tries to hold you back because it knows if you continue you will change. Don't let it stop you from being who you can be. Exhaustion tells you when you ought to stop. You only reach your limit when you can go no further." -Kobe Bryant.
He embodied a level of resilience that indirectly bestowed upon us this unfamiliar feeling where we too, in some way or another, could accomplish ANY AND ALL feats REGARDLESS of how unfeasible they may have seemed.
I mean not to toot my own horn or nut'n, but after watching "The Mind of Kobe Bryant" I say this with every un-athletic bone in my body:
I really truly BELIEVED that I could potentially become a FIRST ROUND PICK in the MLS draft.
Funny thing is, I don't even play soccer?
I've actually NEVER played soccer.
But hey,
That's the power of Kobe Bryant, am I right?
Pretty corny I guess. Or completely and utterly
..true?
https://youtu.be/iXciUuVQvTc
(Here. On the off chance you, too, aspire to go first round in the MLS draft someday.)
Kobe was the man, the myth, and the legend.
THEE legend.
legend?
Legend.
GOAT*
G.O.A.T.
Kobe the bean Bryant was the man, the myth, and, most notably, THE G.O.A.T for all things NBA..
Kobe the bean Bryant was the man, the myth, and, most notably, THE G.O.A.T for all things NBA..
but ALSO for all things that seemingly go far beyond the scope of JUST the NBA.
Kobe Bean Bryant undoubtably CHAMPIONED woman's basketball as we know it...
Putting players like Sabrina, Haley, and I on the map.
Taking his daughter Giana to WNBA games.
The whole nine yards!!!
Though how in tarnation does any of this relate to the notion that he did, in fact, 'champion the game of woman's basketball' , you ask?
Never forget that everyone and they mamas wanted to be like the Black Mamba.
Without question.
If Kobe took it upon himself to attend an LA Sparks game, everyone would now find this sudden, and very much foreign, inkling to willingly attend an LA sparks game as well.
Don't you think?
Essentially,
He was the voice.
The believer.
The activist of all activists in the regard of woman's basketball.
I stand by the belief that Kobe's demise will become one of the most monumental tragedies of our generation.
Although,
Contrary to popular belief, there IS beauty that comes with such unwarranted tribulations.
Today showed us that, independent of all the chaos we experience in this world, one man, encapsulating a pure and authentic sense of empathy, compassion, drive, and conviction, could so effortlessly inspire individuals of all likes and backgrounds.
How, despite never having met Kobe Bryant, his death had such a profound effect on each and every one of us...
..to the f****ng core.
Today showed us that nothing is guaranteed. Whether we wake up in the morning or make it back home in the evening, absolutely nothing in this lifetime..
.. is guaranteed.
An indirect wake up call for the ways in which we view life itself?
Possibly so..
Relationships are powerful, far beyond a reasonable doubt.
"Tell the people in your life that you love them."
Sounds simple doesn't it?
But what about on the days where you hate those people the most?
At the age of 41, Kobe Bean Bryant passed away and at the age of 13, Gianna Bryant passed away.
When trying to contemplate such a tragedy, what I find most difficult to fathom is how the daughter of John and Keri Antobelli, Alyssa, will now have to acclimate to a life without her parents and to a life without her sister.
Where Vanessa Bryant will have to acclimate to a life without her 'person'. Her Lover. Her Best Friend.
To a life without her daughter. Her light. Her little princess.
Where Natalia, Capri, and Bianca will have to acclimate to a life without their "papa".
And without their "gigi".
Survived by Vanessa, Bianca, Capri, and Natalia, the legacies of Kobe and Giana Bryant will live on forever.
Will apologize in advance for the unwarranted corniness that is about to take place, but to put it simply,
"I just HAD to do it to em"
SO without further ado,
If you have read this far, ALWAYS BE CONSIDERATE OF THE FACT THAT
"Yesterday is History and Tomorrow is a Mystery"
..In other words
Tell 👏🏼 the 👏🏼 pipo 👏🏼 in 👏🏼 your👏🏼 life👏🏼 that 👏🏼 you 👏🏼 love 👏🏼 them 👏🏼.
If you didn't read this far,
well..
today I got nothin'.
Oh! and let us NEVER EVER EVER
and did I mention,
EVER forget!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYLR4BcX7Rg
With Gratitude
With Love
&
With a heavy hart,
Tal.