This has been an incredible week with the passing of both David Bowie and Alan Rickman. I often wonder how they’d feel seeing the outpouring of love, admiration and respect following their passing? It’s been powerful. It’s been amazing to see how deeply people have been impacted by both of them in their lives. But mostly, I’ve been reflecting on the influence people can have on us, and yet, we’ve never met them.
David Bowie wasn’t “my” influence. I certainly loved him, but for me it was always Abba as a little gal, and then Freddie Mercury and Madonna as a teenager. They are part of me. They influenced and changed the way I thought. They opened me up to new ideas. They showed me other possibilities for my life. They showed me that having guts and determination is what makes legends. That’s fabulous right? And I’m only getting started on the impact they had on me.
The reflections I’ve seen on social media this week for these two awesome men has really helped me to see and respect that – whoever your “influencer/s” was.
But it also helped me to see something else – and that is how fucking inspiring they both were for different reasons.
Alan Rickman for being one of the finest masters of his craft, and yet he didn’t get his first big international movie deal until he was 41. If you feel you’re getting too old to achieve what you want to achieve and are about to give up, take that as a nice, firm kick in the arse! You’re never too old. The people who knew him also speak of a very fine human being. That’s awesome.
David Bowie, on the other hand, was inspiring for different reasons. He trod paths no one had trod before. He was unashamedly himself. He fought tough issues but he did it elegantly. He was outrageous. He was cheeky. He was honest. He was filthy. He was an outstanding artist. He took risks. He failed. He kept going. He was beautiful. What an impact! He has literally changed the world for the better a little bit, and that’s one hell of a legacy to leave behind.
If I take one thing away from a week when we say goodbye to two great fellas, it is this. Let’s all be a little bit more Bowie and Rickman. Let’s reach for the stars and ignore any fucker that tells us it can’t be done – what do they know? Let’s believe we can, because we can. Let’s live life on the edge and scream our joy of it from the top of the hills, because why not? And while we’re at it, let’s drown out the haters. No space for hate in this world. The reality is, there’s only one truth and it is this – we’re not going to get out of this world alive, so why would any of us play small? Screw that.
I don’t know what my legacy will be, and I have no idea if I have the ability to change the world just a little bit, but if even one person wrote about me with the same regard they are giving to Alan Rickman and David Bowie this week, well then I would be rather pleased with a life well lived.
What do you reckon? What has the impact been on you?
Yours, without the bollocks
Andrea
