The definition of essential is what’s absolutely necessary, extremely important.
The question: “Are you essential?” was posed to our community group Mindfulness for Mamas here in Jackson, Wyoming. The mama group shared so many different ways in which we’ve experienced the past 2.5 years during a global pandemic as mothers, as wives, as partners, and as career-oriented women. The pandemic has brought a lot of big questions to our lives about our significance and our importance. How do we decide to spend our time? How do we want to show up in our lives? Who do we want to spend on our time on? What do we decide to pour our time and energy into?
We are all essential to someone, right? The first thing that comes to mind is if you have lived, you have mattered to someone. Our community suffered a recent loss of Radcliff “Rad” Spencer, 27 years old to the mountains. The loss felt deep and wide in the community. Rad was our real estate agent that helped us with the purchase of our very first home in October 2021. He was the youngest partner at age 24 at Neville Asbell Spencer team at Compass Real Estate. He was way more than his occupation though, he was a son, a brother, a friend, a mountaineer, a skier, a lacrosse coach, a breakfast and coffee lover, and even a hot yoga guy! Rad lived up to his name, a person and a name you could never soon forget.
Is your business essential to the community?
It’s important to ask ourselves this question to have a moment of pause and reflection. How can we be better servants to our community? What kind of impact do we want to have on our community?
Peel back businesses, there are people behind them. No matter the size, no matter the industry. People reside.
We all need to have opportunities to think and reflect on how we live our own lives. When we lose someone that was an essential part of the community we have an opportunity to take stock. Despite how many years of experience I have in serving businesses and nonprofit organizations I can still learn something new. I tell my son when I send him off to preschool, I say “You go to school. Mommy goes to ‘life school.’” When you stop learning you stop living.
How will you be essentially rad in your own way?
Rest in Peace, Rad! This is not goodbye, but see you bassoon!
