Nothing Left Unsaid

Nothing Left Unsaid

My wife and I were watching television Saturday night and it had gotten to be around 10:00 when she mentioned that she had recorded an interview Anderson Cooper had done with his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt. The title of the show was, Nothing Left Unsaid. The show was about 2 hours in length and our plan was to watch about an hour of it, and then go to bed and leave the rest for another night. Well, that didn’t happen. It was so absolutely fascinating and riveting that we just couldn’t stop watching. If there is such a thing as “must see TV”…this is it.

Anderson Cooper, always the consummate journalist, knew that there was much in his mother’s life that had yet to be discussed between the two of them; so that was the mission of this endeavor…to leave nothing unsaid.

Perhaps a better title might have been, Getting Up From the Canvas…Repeatedly.

As the story progressed, I had visions of one of those Sci-Fi movies, where the robotic, bionic hero is vaporized into a gooey mess on the floor after being hit with a laser gun. The movie viewer thinks the hero is down for the count…only to witness the gooey mess start to energize itself and start to move back into its original form…good as new. That was, and is Gloria Vanderbilt’s life. While her life is filled with stories of money and famous people, and exciting exploits…it is her strength in repeatedly getting back up after being beaten to the ground by life that is worthy of our time. For you see, 99% of us will never have her lifestyle…100% of us will, at some point, have our turn in getting beaten to the ground. Perhaps learning from Gloria Vanderbilt how to get back up can change your life.

Gloria Vanderbilt, if I remember correctly, is now 91-years young. Here is just a few of the things she had to deal with in her life…

-at 6-years old, Gloria was the subject of a bitter custody battle between her mother and aunt over the control of her $5 million inheritance from the Vanderbilt fortune. Her mother ended up losing custody to the aunt. The story was plastered all over the newspapers and newsreels of the time.

-she has an adult son from one of her marriages who hasn’t spoken to her and the rest of the family for decades.

-she watched as one of her sons leaped off the balcony of her New York City apartment to his death.

-after several unsuccessful marriages, she finally marries a man who was a devoted husband and father, only to have him die way too young.

The list goes on and on. This is just what I remembered with giving it just a little thought. The point being, any one of these events would have destroyed someone with a lesser ability to over-come the obstacles placed in front of them.

Do yourself a favor; find some time to watch this. Better yet, watch it with your children. As parents, we try to shelter our kids from the pain of living. We have good intentions. Who wants to see their children suffer? Yet, suffering is a part of life. Sadly, in sheltering them; they may never learn to overcome adversity when it comes knocking.

We are born, only to die. None of us will escape the pain of losing someone we love. Life is about overcoming pain. Life is about learning to find joy after suffering a broken heart. Life is about finding the strength, and the courage to face a new day. You will not find a better example than Gloria Vanderbilt.

Thank you Anderson Cooper. You taught us a great deal by sharing your mother’s story.