I try to tell the truth as I’ve learned it. Sometimes I mess up and get it wrong. We are all human. We are all made the same way. We all want the same basic things. Cultures may be different. Skin color and religions may differ too. But look past all that into the soul of any human, and you will see the same yearnings in each of us.

Some of us have been scarred and brutalized. Some of us have had lives of ease. Some of us have to work very, very hard at survival, some of us don’t give a thought to the next day. Some of us are afraid, some of us are care free. Some of us show off, some of us are timid and hide. Some of us are mean and full of hate, some of us can’t help but love everyone. But we are all in this together.

One man of my generation knew this. One man of my generation grew into his spirituality in front of the media and the whole world watched him live and die.

John Lennon.

Perhaps it’s because his music touched me when I was young and impressionable, perhaps it’s because he was so vulnerable in front of the camera, perhaps it’s because he is a fellow Libra..and I sense his inner workings…but his life and death remains more vivid in my heart than any of the other greats of my generation.

When the controversy of the break up of the BEATLES happened…and people blamed Yoko..I thought to myself…and I was a teenager then…(yikes) I thought..how special she must be to him…to have loved her like he did…and she loved him…yea..she was different..but that man loved her! Regardless of why…she filled a deep need in him. He was not perfect. He made his mistakes very publicly. But he loved Yoko, and we have to take her word for it…she loved him.

Perhaps this is why he is special to me too. He made a mess of his first marriage…didn’t provide his firstborn Julian with a father’s love and presence….yet, somehow his journey to death in front of the Dakota building was for all of us. To teach us that you can grow and learn. You can make mistakes, you can try to make things right. You can be a rebel and still be a decent human being.

He was very human. And he was a caring man. He wanted to learn, he wanted to share and he wanted things to be right. I can relate to that.