Bright Lights/Young Lives: Greg

Video Transcript

Gratefulness to me is being thankful for what you have. Being content. For example, waking up this morning I’m thankful that my eyes work. I’m thankful that I have breath. I’m thankful that I can smell that, that I can listen, I can hear things, right? I’m just thankful for all those things. And I think it’s a lot about finding peace with where you are, no matter what the circumstances are.

I am Gregory Corbin. I’m from Philadelphia, PA. I am a consultant and educator and artist and a leadership coach.

When I am practicing gratefulness, it feels peaceful because I am content with what I have. I’m not running into the future, I’m not running into the past. I’m really looking at everything that I’ve already been gifted with, that I already have, that already is in my life. People, places, you know, I’m just humbled by what I’ve already done and what I will do.

if I had a superpower, my superpower would be, I know it sounds simple, but to fly. Flying, you can see so much of the world if you can fly. Sometimes you’re so grounded, you don’t get to see everything that you would like to see. And I think perspective is everything, right? So if I can fly, I can see so many different things at the same time.

Some of the things I try not to take for granted are just people in general. My relationships with people, doesn’t matter what level it is, doesn’t matter if it’s an associate, doesn’t matter, even if it’s a stranger. My relationships, my interactions with people, I believe that every interaction, every breath, every word we share…all those things are ripple effects in a bigger universe. And so I do my best to make sure that every interaction I have with people is the most kind, the most courteous. I don’t always get it right, but I do my best to make sure that every interaction I have is a journey into a better world.

A difficult time where I had to be grateful anyway would probably be when my father passed away. It’s been almost 20 years, actually. It actually is 20 years now. And my father, he had lung cancer and it was a really, really tough time because it happened so fast. I mean, this one moment I’m playing basketball, taking walks with my father, going for rides with my father, and then the next, you see that your father’s body is compromised. He wasn’t moving the way he usually moved.

Maybe a month after that, he passed away. My best friend comes to get me from the house. He said, ‘Let’s go for a ride.’ Maybe two or three hours later, he said, ‘I know you don’t want to hear this. This might sound too soon.’ My best friend, he came to get me, comes to get me, right? And he said, ‘Greg, some people don’t even get to meet their fathers. They don’t ever see their fathers.’ I was like, wow. He’s like, ‘At least you had a father, like your father was there, Greg.’ And he said, ‘It would probably kill your father if he had to bury you. And I know it hurts right now. I know you miss him already, but that’s the way it’s supposed to be because I don’t know if your father could bear the pain of burying you before he leaves.’ It instantly gave me this perspective where one, I had a father and I had to honor that I even had a father, that unfortunately in certain communities, it’s a privilege to have your father around.

I was able to be there and see how the relationship ended on a physical level, but he’s still here spiritually, in a spiritual sense. He lives with me. My father gave me lessons, wisdom, and experiences that I take forward and I give to my son and I give to my family, and that’s how he lives forward.