Empire star, Grace Gealey who plays ‘Anika’ bids farewell to Empire show. Over the weekend the actress issued a ‘goodbye’ letter to fans with a heartfelt message urging us all to live our lives in the present by spreading love and compassion to others and removing judgement.
In the letter, Gealey shared personal testimony about a near death experience that she’d encounter prior to her landing the role on Empire; the financial toll it took on her lifestyle, and the lessons she’d learned from her birth parents; both of whom are deaf. This is truly one of the most inspirational letters I’ve ready in quite some time.
Take a read below:
” Oh, friends. The time has come. With the adieu of Empire, I too must say goodbye. I can’t tell you how extraordinary its been to share with all of you my thoughts, beliefs and some of the things that mean the most to me. Your responses have been positively overwhelming and I’m so glad and grateful that we could all connect in this way. A heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you.
With this entry, I wanted to go a little deeper and share something a bit more personal about what ‘goodbye’ has almost meant to me. It’s still quite weird for me to say, but I’ve almost lost my life a number of times. Maybe we all have had a near death experience. Quite possibly while watching Empire you might have noticed under certain lighting, a very prominent scar through my left eyebrow. That was probably the most recent event, a few years ago, when I was hit dead-on by a Yukon truck where [I split my forehead to the skull; 15 stitches].
My body went into trauma, the bruises were practically black all over my body and the healing process took a few weeks I couldn’t work, I couldn’t audition; I could barely leave the house. I was living in New York at the time so I didn’t know what to do with myself because I was always on my starving-artist-hustle-grind. But now, everything had come to an abrupt halt and I was forced to spend all of my time, in bed, thinking, Here’s what I discovered.
1) It’s so easy to get whisked away in the hubbub of friends, work and busyness, but we need to take time to be still and become aware of ourselves. The small things. The fact that we’re still breathing. Our ability to move. The presence of love around and in us. Our strengths. Our Opportunities. Our Journeys. Let us swell in gratitude and allow it to overwhelm us. It isn’t cliche’ as we make it; life truly is short. Let’s spend it all lavishly wallowing in gratitude.
2) We do not know each other stories. Living the life I have lived being raised by deaf parents, assimilating to a different culture and the challenges I have forced over time has given me insight to the fact that each person has their own complex, intricate story and it’s rarely what I suspect it is. We must have compassion and grace for each other. We MUST. Each person slowly walking up the stairs in front of you that is making you late may be healing from a pelvic injury. Each person who cuts you off in the street could be rushing somewhere else to urgently aid a friend in need. Each person you scream at because they are so ‘oblivious’ and haven’t answered your demands, could simply be deaf. We are all we have Let’s be unwaveringly generous in showering each other with compassion, patience and grace. We need it much more than we think.
3) We aren’t perfect. And I love that about us! But in the same breath, that means that there are always opportunities for us to grow and become even more dope human beings. If you have success, love, and people around to share it with, my heart is smiling with you. But with or without that let us not forget that we aren’t done yet. No matter how old we get, how far we come along, how much success we have or even if we have attained everything we have ever desired, there is still room to ameliorate our hearts, our behaviors , our thoughts and the ways that we connect with others. Lets awake every morning making a conscious effort to listen a little more, fight a little harder, celebrate a little bigger and love ourselves and others a little better.
We may not know what each day has in store for us. We could be gone tomorrow. Any minute could truly be our goodbye. But we do have this moment. This time. Today. Right now. It takes way more effort to shell out hate then it does to allow love to flow freely in our lives. After all, it’s what we were born to do.
Celebrating life, and so much more life with you today in this very moment. ”
Grace