Patrick Swayze's net worth at the time of his death.

No. This title is not my idea. It is a quote from the terms a web searcher used, from Littleton, Colorado today. They googled: “Patrick Swayze’s net worth at the time of death.” I must confess, I was flabbergasted at such a query. It spoke of a most distorted value system that invokes a belief that the measure of a life, is found in personal wealth. There are many ways to measure a life, but none of the meaningful methods involve a consideration of wealth. A billionaire is not more worthy than a penniless poet. One beautiful poem adds more to the world than all of Bill Gates’ fabled wealth. Such a poem also has the power to touch more lives, than any fortune ever could.

For me, it is particularly telling that the search originated in the USA. America is a country in which the dollar and its pursuit have been elevated to be the highest endeavour – that, and fame – creating a country of people who seem unable to place real value on life’s varied endeavours. There are many ways to contribute to the world which don’t necessarily result in great personal wealth – but that does not make them any less worthy than those that do. Being a banker, for instance, is not the highest life a human can live – though it is one of the more remunerative. However, being an artist, or a poet or a composer, contributes much more to humanity, ultimately, than any purely financial endeavour. Such pursuits enrich human culture, for all time and leave the world a greater place, by their lives, than the world was when they entered it. Yet, few can make a living, never mind become wealthy. Those who seek to measure the world in dollar terms will always miss what is of true value.

Love of the dollar is also why Singapore is such a soul-less place. Very few Singaporean parents are happy to hear that their child wants to enter a creative profession, prone to financial risk. They all want to hear that their children want to go into Medicine, Law or Finance – anything that makes good, secure money. The result, however, of all this love of money, is a country which fails to truly live. Life in Singapore, consequently, has the feel of living in a manicured wasteland, where no-one is truly allowed to breathe, and those with the most ability to “breathe” are shoved to one side, in favour of those who conform most to financial aspirations.

If you want to know the “worth” of Patrick Swayze’s life, you should look not at his bank balance, but the films on his IMDB page ( http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000664/ )– for that is what he loved to do. Measure the worth of his performances, in those films, if you would, and you will come to a better appreciation of the “measure” of his life. A man is measured not by what he owns, but by what he loves to do: in his passions is the true magnitude of a man to be found.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

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Patrick Swayze's death: a note on what is important.

Patrick Swayze has died. He was rather too young, of course, at 57, but it had seemed rather inevitable, recently, given the seriousness of his pancreatic cancer.

At times like this, it can give comfort to those loved ones he has left behind, to realize how full a life he lived - and I am fairly sure he lived a full one. He was also successful in his chosen field and has left a substantial body of work. So, perhaps, his loved ones will draw nourishment from that. How he touched those he knew, how rich was the life he lived with them, is what is important. So, too, how fulfilled he felt in his work. I think, regarding that, that he must really have loved being an actor - because he took the lead role in The Beast, after his diagnosis and so chose to spend some of his final months working. That, in itself, tells us that, in his own view, he lived life the right way.

The reason I have chosen to write this post, however, is because of my surprise at what some of the searchers to my blog have searched for today. Some have used the terms: "Patrick Swayze net worth" and "What was Patrick Swayze worth" (this latter search was from Yonkers, in New York...I didn't check where the other was from.). I find these searches tasteless and really off the mark. The man has just died and all they are interested in, is the size of his estate. His wealth didn't matter much when he was alive - and it matters even less now that he is dead. What matters is did he live well, did he fulfill himself and did he share a good life with those he loved? Nothing else matters...certainly, not how many greenbacks he managed to accumulate. Really, I often find myself surprised - even shocked - at how shallow the world is becoming.

Rest in Peace Patrick Swayze.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

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IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals.If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

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Patrick Swayze's pancreatic cancer.

Patrick Swayze has pancreatic cancer, stage iv. Now, this is probably not news to most of my readers, but I thought his situation worth commenting on, in one aspect.

Patrick Swayze was diagnosed last year with stage iv pancreatic cancer. This is a terminal diagnosis. Only 1% of patients with this degree of disease are alive five years later. Thus, it could be said, that Patrick Swayze is very, very unlikely to survive very long. However, apparently he has already outlasted his doctor's estimate of his longevity by 100% (his doctor had given him six months).

Well, that is Patrick Swayze's health situation. It doesn't look good, but I wish him well. What drew my attention, though, was not that he had cancer but how he was coping with it. Patrick Swayze is doing what I consider to be quite unusual: he is working, as an actor, throughout his treatment. He is playing FBI agent Charlie Barker, in The Beast, a new tv show shooting in Chicago. So, despite having what most doctors would say was a terminal illness, he is working 12 hour days as an actor.

This tells me something special. Whatever one might think about Patrick Swayze's work and life (and I admit I haven't given it much thought), it does say that he is doing what he loves most. Here is a man who is spending what could be his last months, WORKING, as an actor. Think about that. How many of us would spend our last months working at the jobs we presently do. Ask yourself that question: if you had been told by your doctor that you had six months left to live, would YOU spend them at your workplace? Or would you find another way to spend your time?

Many of us would spend that time with our families, tidying up our affairs. Patrick Swayze has chosen to spend this time, perhaps his only time left, working on a TV set. For me, that means that Patrick Swayze must have chosen the perfect life for himself. He must be living what he most deeply wants to do. Otherwise, he would have found another way to spend these months, than at work.

Whether or not Patrick Swayze survives, therefore, there is an example in his life story for us all. Live your live as you would live it if you were dying. In other words, do what is most special to you, NOW...do what you would choose to spend your last months on, NOW...for these months may very well be your last months. One never knows on such matters.

Patrick Swayze is, no doubt, happy in what he does. He has made the choice to pursue acting despite the prospect of imminent death. That is a sign that however long or short Patrick Swayze's life might be, (he is 55) that he has chosen a good life for himself.

Can we all say the same?

How would you spend your last six months? If the answer is not at work, then that work is not truly you. The work you do does not fully and deeply express who you are. However, if you answered that you would continue working in your present job until you could work no longer, then you are living an ideal life, for you.

I would be interested in people's personal perspectives on this situation. How would you spend your last six months: would you continue doing what you are doing now, or would you change your life utterly?

If you would change it, perhaps that is the life you should now be living anyway.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)