Man…this weekend has been difficult on the entertainment world. Seriously, the past couple of months have been just hard. George Carlin, Tim Russert, Bernie Mac…and now Isaac Hayes have all passed. I realize that death is a part of life, and that we must say goodbye and continue to move forward; but the emptiness is hard to ignore.

Isaac Hayes just epitomized cool to me. He always reminded me of someone who could sit you down and have a nice long conversation about life…no bullshitting, no fillers…just straight, no chaser. My mother used to play those Isaac Hayes records, one in particular: “I Stand Accused.” Man, I heard that record so much growing up, not really knowing what it meant until I got older, but even in my youth, I knew that that man was laying down some serious, serious realness.

I feel blessed to have been exposed to his immense talent…blessed to have heard his rap, his speaking, his songs. All of these happenings this weekend have just reminded me how precious life is, and how important it is to live every day.

I leave you with my favorite Isaac Hayes song…

Isaac Hayes - Walk On By
video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on December 2, 2007 by CWroyal88

With every passing day, I become more aware of how I live my life. I have spent so much of my time living in fear, resisting the things that I have always wanted to do. Coming to face that fear is my biggest challenge, and I have made a vow to live my life, every day, to the fullest. What does the fullest mean, though? What it means to me is to leave a trail of love behind me wherever I go; it means that I will:

“Dance like nobody’s watching; love like you’ve never been hurt. Sing like nobody’s listening; live like it’s heaven on earth.”

~ Mark Twain

How are you living your life?