Tim Russert: Big Man, Big Loss (and 1 in Half a Million)

As you know by now, we lost Tim Russert last week. A sudden, tragic and painful loss, he will be missed by his family, friends and so many millions.


Tim was a brilliant man with a huge heart whose authenticity and values were clear to see. I appreciated him, along with millions of others, for who he was and the job he did for all of us.

Like all lives, it’s sad when they end but Tim’s passing is further reaching than most for he impacted so many. The good news is he made a difference the bad news is that means all the more people will feel the loss.

[As tragic as Tim’s passing is, it’s important to note what Dr. Oz said: “Of the 450,000 people a year who die of heart attacks in this country, probably half of them never knew they were at risk of a heart attack.” That means Tim, as special as he was in many ways was just 1 in nearly half a million each year who die from heart disease. That seems like too many to me.]

In every major life event, such as death, there are life-lessons to be learned: Allow me to share a few that come to mind in this case.

The first and most obvious is you never know how long you have. Thus it’s wise to avoid things that lesson your odds of seeing tomorrow—like ignoring your health and wellbeing.

Walking the Tightrope of Health?

Given Tim’s physical appearance it’s easy to suggest that he was walking a tightrope of health. I
admit to having had my own inner-dialogues about what looked to me like
an imbalance of food and exercise. Still, according to his doctors, Tim
was “eating better” and “exercising” – which is comforting to know.

And I also appreciate that the doctors affirmed that “weight does
matter,” and Tim was struggling with eating well and controlling his
weight on demanding travel schedule he endured during the campaign.
[Note to self: eat well at least 80% of the time.]

But then this still gets me a little agitated for while Tim was doing
what the doctors wanted, it sounds to me like the standard medical
message, “…do just enough to stay alive.” Another case of confusing
“true health” with “the absence of disease.” Which in my book is aiming
too low.

I think it’s time we stop waiting for things to scare us to health
before we take action.

My guess is that in Tim’s case and millions of
others, it wouldn’t take a psychic to project the growing risk a decade
or more ago. Perhaps this is the time when someone should have / could
have helped Tim see forward and create a Turning Point. I can only
imagine a greater difference could have been made sooner.

That said, I appreciate what Dr. Nancy L. Snyderman said as a final
comment regarding Tim’s death on the Today show, “seems God had other
plans for Tim.”

She’s right—it wasn’t something we could have seen coming nor necessarily prevented at this point.

My final lesson came to me as I watched the tribute edition of Meet the
Press Sunday. I couldn’t help but think about how sad it is that we
(meaning me and a lot of others) don’t always fully appreciate
people—and all they bring to our lives—until they are gone.

Practice gratitude and appreciation every day. It’s not enough to have
good intentions—gratitude is a muscle, you must train every day. The
more you strengthen it, intentionally, the more open you will be to
life and the more in awe you will find yourself.

People are amazing—life is amazing but most of us are far too busy to
notice this until tragedy jolts us to our senses. When life jolts you
to the present moment, grab hold and hang on!

And finally, to Tim… thank you for living life full strength! May you peace be yours.

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