RIP

Today a friend of mine died. His name was Paddy Gearns and he was an amazing guy. I had the pleasure of getting to know Paddy at Edinburgh University where we were both students and I - like I’m sure everyone else who met him - was blown away by the way he carried himself. He oozed confidence but was in no way arrogant, he had that enviable knack of being the center of attention but still ensuring everyone else present felt involved and valued. You couldn’t meet Paddy in the street without him greeting you with a big smile, firm handshake and a genuine interest in how you were doing. He seemed impervious to worry and had a fantastic outlook on life, not only that, he seemed driven to success and had the world at his feet. That a life like this can be cut short so early is chilling, he leaves behind a vast group of friends and well wishers who are all the poorer for the loss. The suddenness of it all clearly shaking each and everyone and it has been amazing to see the reactions, ones full of sadness but also of pride and happiness that they had met him. He was a great guy and I will miss him very much.

The reaction is, however, double edged and whilst it is a happier thing to celebrate his life  - and it is something that will doubtlessly be done by all that knew him – it is also necessary to mourn his death. I am unsure whether this feeling is the same for everyone but this is the first friend or person my age that I know who has died. The immortality of youth has come crashing down around me and the phrase 'too young to die' – previously the reserve of Hollywood –is now entirely applicable.  2 points of view can be adopted from this it seems to me; that of a morbid realization that no one is exempt, that life is fragile and fleeting, or should it encourage us to embrace every moment with an increased vigour?

To think that someone whose life held so much ahead of them was unable to fully realise this how then can I justify sitting on the sofa watching everything just drift by? So although this event is extremely sad Paddy’s life must be celebrated not just nominally but entirely. Take life by the horns because nothing is guaranteed, everything is fleeting, every moment that goes by offers opportunity and you’d be a fool to watch it pass.


For those of you who did know Paddy there is a great group on Facebook to share memories.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/In-Memory-of-Patrick-Gearns/296839330361754