This One's for You Pop

Unique Perspectives: This One's for You Pop

By Kim Stevens

When I plan these posts, I usually do it weeks in advance. I like to know what topic I’m covering when and really think about the why. But I could never have predicted that this week when I planned to talk about my favorite word – entelechy – I’d also be in Florida with my family, where Pop took his last, beautiful breath.

It’s been a tough few days for the Gravina clan – the pain is still real and raw – but we’re OK. I’m the only girl in the family, with three younger brothers, and we were all in Florida this week to say our goodbyes. My dad had a great sense of humor and so does the family, so we laugh, we cry, we laugh about crying, and we share sweet memories of a special person who played such an important role in our lives.

I first learned about the word entelechy from Joseph Campbell but it dates as far back as Aristotle (originating from the Greek word entelecheia) and it essentially means realizing or making actual what is otherwise just potential. It’s also one of the coolest words I know. If there’s a single word that can epitomize what I’m all about, it would be entelechy. I can’t imagine leaving this planet without becoming the highest version of myself, without realizing my full potential, and I know my dad felt the same way.

Entelechy isn’t a passive word, it’s active, defined by the dynamic motion of progress. In Aristotle’s On the Soul, the philosopher talks about how entelecheia of the body is what makes it come alive, and I’ve thought a lot about Aristotle’s idea now that my dad is no longer with us. I keep going back to his final few days, and the only way I can describe them is that he died so well, so bravely, so heroically. It was clear he left this world while still in the process of reaching his full potential, and now that mission, the entelechy of my father, feels like it’s been passed on to me.

My dad was the greatest father a girl could ask for. We called him the Strongest Man on Earth because really, he was. Last week when he knew he’d have to say goodbye, he was (in many ways) the strongest he’s ever been.

So this message is dedicated to my father, who showed me a lifetime of the best kind of love. Pop, your legacy is now my potential and I promise that just like you, I’ll never stop realizing it for the rest of my life.

In loving memory of Joel Gravina,

Kim