The title this week comes from a chapter in Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” In that chapter, he talks about imaging yourself at your funeral, sitting invisible up in the balcony while watching the service. Who would be there? What would those in attendance be saying about you?
I recently attended a memorial service for a friend of mine who worked in my industry, Dennis Lane. As I made the trek up to Columbia for the service, I was wondering what kind of memorial this would be. I knew they were holding it at Merriweather Post Pavilion, a venue where major rock bands frequently perform, but could enough people really be coming to justify such a large venue?
The answer was yes – the entire lower level of Merriweather Post was full. There were hundreds of people in attendance. Prominent politicians, lots of family members, big-time players in the local real estate scene and many more categories of people were represented at the service. There was even a large group, in matching, custom T-shirts, of people who had attended college with Dennis in Cleveland and who traveled from all over the country for his memorial.
Several people spoke about Dennis and his life during the service, and they did a wonderful job of helping the audience get to know Dennis even better and celebrate his life. I learned that Dennis and I had more in common than I had realized: he was a commercial real estate broker who came from a big Irish family with quite a few sisters and he was a blogger who wrote one of the most-read blogs in Howard County: “A Tale of Two Cities.”
In life there are givers and there are takers. Dennis, he was a world-class giver. Whether taking long walks with his wife around town, spending long hours on the phone with each of his 5 sisters, taking his daughter to carnivals and birthday parties, sparring with politicians over improvements in his beloved community or writing a new post for his blog, Dennis gave of himself to others. His time, his attention, his words, his effort – he gave and gave and gave to others with every ounce of the relentless energy and positive attitude that God gave him.
My mom used to tell me that you get what you give in this life. Dennis got hundreds of people coming from all across the region and the country to pack an arena and talk about how much he meant to them. I think that says quite a bit about what he gave in his life.
God bless you Dennis, and may you rest in peace.
– Ro