Saying Goodbye to ST
My colleague ST passed away a couple of weeks ago. I’ve known ST for 10 plus years. He is a well known and respected colleague at work, been with the company in its many forms for close to 40 years. Unfortunately, I do not know him well. We speak occasionally but we’ve always been friendly to each other.
He don’t often get to know our colleagues beyond a business and professional level. The little glimpses we get can help shape our understanding of them and help build a better relationship which could lead to friendship. ST is a single man and one of enduring memories of him is his devotion to his dog. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to build on this common passion to develop anything more than an acquaintanceship with him.
I attended ST’s funeral virtually and got to know a little bit more about him. It was a service that celebrated Simon’s life. He might have been a single man but he was not alone. He cared a lot for his family in Australia, his best friend’s family and other people that crossed his path. He lived a life in service of others, volunteering at a pet shelter and often going out of his way to look after others.
This got me thinking. How am I living my life? Do I contribute positively to the people and environment around me? Do I lift my head out of my own internal introspection to give space to others? ST did. I should learn from him.
I travelled to the city four times this week. I captured a few video clips on the scenes I encounter on my train journey in and the area around the Britomart station in Auckland city.
I suspect the sea of road cones at the entrance of the station was either an art installation or a protest about excessive government regulation. Each road cone had a QR code on them and it talked about where the cone travelled from.