I started Weekend Motivation nearly two years ago. We were in the midst of the financial meltdown and there was a pervasive sense of uncertainty, gloom, anxiety and defeatism that seemed to permeate our national conversation. Amid this dark atmosphere of dread and fear, I wanted to sound out a different message – Our world abounds with the brightness of wonders and miracles, joy and triumph, but we are often too busy embracing the darkness of our perceived burdens to notice that light. This past week I was privileged to bear witness to this contrast in the untimely passing of a friend.
On Sunday, our local newspaper reported that his tragic death at the age of 53 was the result of a house fire. The article then went on to chronicle several unfortunate incidents that centered around him over the past few years of his life. After reading the article, my wife and I both commented on how tawdry we felt the newspaper’s reporting was. At some point in our lives, we are all burdened with demons that enter our lives. Often they show up because we welcome them in some fashion or another, but should our transgressions overshadow all of our contributions? My wife and I concluded that, while we were not qualified to sit in judgment, neither was the newspaper. Simply put, God does not call us to judge. Jesus specifically commanded us, “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.”
Those that knew him know that there was much to celebrate about his life. Those that didn’t know him were cheated by the “news” focusing on his purported darkness rather than on the brightness of his light.
His obituary appeared in the paper on Tuesday. Crafted by those who knew and loved him best, it began to more accurately describe the sum of his life:
Lafayette is presently mourning the loss of a local legend. Walter J. “Wally” Romero, Jr. tragically passed away in a house fire on Saturday, September 4, 2010. A true bon vivant, known as “Uncle Wally” to most, “Wally World” was distinctly known to instantaneously bring a smile and laughter to all he encountered. A good-loving, big hearted, huge personality, he will never be forgotten…
“Wally World” was a world created in the image of this dynamic individual, but it is not a world that was, or should be, unique to him. It’s a world filled with good cheer; where each person is deserved of being treated as if they are most important and extremely valuable. In Wally World there is no darkness, only bright light permeated with song, dance and good cheer. It is a place where the value placed on one person is significant to the value of all people. Wally World abounds with the brightness of wonders and miracles. It is the same world we all share but rarely focus on. Uncle Wally was focused to it like a laser beam.
At his funeral on Thursday, the church was packed with those that knew and loved him. Each mourned his loss, but relished and celebrated his life. Many of us learned things we didn’t know, such as the prayer he wrote in May of this year. It was not a prayer of need, want or loss. It was a prayer of thanksgiving to God for all of the special people that had touched Wally’s life. That was so typical of him. Even before God, he was complimenting and building up others.
Then there was the revelation from the Pastor in his homily that when the emergency crews arrived too late at his home on Saturday, Wally was found clutching a rosary in his hands. Deepak Chopra tells us, “Each of us is here to discover our true self…that essentially we are spiritual beings who have taken manifestation in physical form…that we are not human beings that have occasional spiritual experiences, rather, that we are spiritual beings that have occasional human experiences.” I think that aptly describes the sum of “Uncle Wally.”
Weekend Motivation is about the power, grace and beauty that abounds in our world and is there for each of us to share in. If it helps to brighten your life, then it has done what it was intended to do – to open your heart and mind to the unlimited possibilities one can find if you journey to Wally World.
“You have changed my mourning into dancing; you took off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness. With my whole being I sing endless praise to you, Oh Lord, my God, forever will I give you thanks.”
–Psalm 30 IV 12-13
Have an AWE-full weekend!
Bill Bacque