I write to you this week just moments after being informed that one of my greatest mentors is preparing for death.

David Patient became my mentor in 2013. I met him in Mpumalanga, South Africa. He spoke to U.S. Peace Corps volunteers. His first words to us were, AIDS has been my greatest teacher.

I write to you this week just moments after being informed that one of my greatest mentors is preparing for death.

David Patient became my mentor in 2013. I met him in Mpumalanga, South Africa. He spoke to U.S. Peace Corps volunteers. His first words to us were, AIDS has been my greatest teacher.

David was one of the first people in the world to be diagnosed as HIV positive in 1983. The medical world knew little about the illness at the time.

As you read this, many are asking, Was David a homosexual man? Did he get the disease from drug use?

While I will not answer these questions, I will share about who and what he was.

David was a reflection of the troubled youth growing up in our communities.

He grew up feeling unloved. He dealt with the angry outrages of an alcoholic parent. By his teenage years, he believed he was worthless. He lived in emotional hell and wondered why he was alive at all.

David attempted suicide on numerous occasions. He numbed his pain with substances. Then he was diagnosed with HIV and told he would die soon. He watched many of his friends die.

Something shifted within him. One day he climbed to the top of a mountain with the goal of killing himself. Once alone atop the peak, he had an epiphany. He realized that his pain could become his power and purpose in life.

Over the next 30-plus years, David dedicated himself to health-care research, personal empowerment, and community development.

He became a consultant to the United Nations, and co-led a project that helped women from the Massai tribe of Kenya become economically active for the first time in history.

He donated years of his life to teaching people how to live longer and healthier lives in defiance of sickness.

He taught orphans how to grow their own food so they wouldnt starve.

He taught communities how to tackle their problems as a team.

He authored several books to teach others about how worthy they are and about our power to overcome lifes obstacles.

Thousands of people from all over the world are alive, healthy, and contributing to the greater good of humanity because of Davids touch in the world.

Today, his body is shutting down but his imprint in the world is vast and deep. Multiple nations have been uplifted by his legacy.

I cant tell you what happened for David that day atop the mountain. But I believe something divine sparked within him and helped him to feel the truth.

The truth is every single individual has a purpose in life.

Every individual is worthy of love.

We live in a world that tells us we are not good enough because we do not have this, or because we do not look like that.

We live in a world that justifies hatred over differences.

There is no justification for hatred.

Hatred is not our purpose.

Our purpose has something to do with love.

David made a difference in the world.

So do you whether you choose to judge and hate, or accept and love.

When your body is shutting down, and death is nearing, what kind of memories do you want rolling through your tired mind?

What kind of legacy do you wish to leave behind?

In what ways can we love ourselves and others more?

Do you criticize yourself/others?

Do you harm yourself with an unhealthy diet or destructive substances?

Have you thoughts about suicide?

Do you know others dealing with these issues?

Love is your purpose.

How can you love yourself and others more?

David Patient asked these simple questions. He let his heart guide him.

Is your heart guiding you?

The end of your book of life is being written by each thought you have, every word you speak, and every deed you do.

Was your last thought loving?

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