I’m sitting here, writing this post on my MacBook while listening to some music from iTunes on my iPod headphones with sadness and gratitude in my heart.

I’m sure I’m only one of hundreds, if not thousands, of people writing about Steve Jobs passing today. And I found out about it from a text message on my iPhone from my sweetie who, in turn, received the news from a text message from her youngest son’s friend (we figured he knew she had an iPhone and would want to know.)

As with any blog post, I’m simply relaying my thoughts and feelings. You see, while I don’t believe I feel any more strongly than the next person, I have experienced the loss of someone close (my mother in ’97). Of course, I didn’t personally know Steve Jobs, but he was a part of my life. An inspiration in many ways. And while I didn’t like some of the things he’d done in the past, his creations have allowed me to tap into creativity I never knew I had within me.

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

John Donne
Meditation 17
Devotions upon Emergent Occasions

I read several things about Mr. Jobs tonight. Many I already had read. Many that were moving. And finally, we all sat down to watch his 2005 Speech to the graduates of Stanford University.

Man. What an inspiration.

And what a wake-up call.

As my heart aches for how I’ve been ‘diminished’ today, I remember another quote he said, “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.” [The Wall Street Journal, May 25, 1993]

Have I created something wonderful in my life? And have I shared it with others?

Sleep will be difficult tonight.

I feel the ghost of Steve Jobs watching over me telling me to get busy.

Resources:
Poetry Online (For Whom the Bell Tolls)
Apple Computers