Someone to see us for who we are and acknowledge that in some way, our life mattered, even if it didn't matter much.
Did I matter? Was I loved? Will I be missed? Those are things my great-grandmother worried about on her deathbed. At the time, I thought it was funny that she wasn't more concerned about dying, but, it was more about who would remember her. I was young enough to wonder why she was worrying if she was going to hell. I heard her cuss a few times when the kids were out of earshot. The nuns led us to believe that was good enough for a pass to hell.
It makes more sense now than when I was a kid. I guess wanting to know if you had no effect on the world whatsoever is something people think about. I mean, what would be the point of your life?
On a different note, Life is Beautiful is very much one of my favorite movies - ever.
At the end - I wonder if I will be thinking about whether people loved me enough, or I loved enough. Which is more important? Do I want to be missed for being gone, or appreciated for having lived?
It is all about control, isn't it?
You aren't self-centered, so you will wonder if you loved enough and you want to be appreciated for having lived.
It IS all about control.