Keller @ Large: Travis Roy's Lesson For All Of Us

By Jon Keller, WBZ-TV

BOSTON (CBS) - The most important information in the news this past weekend wasn't about the latest poll or political speech, or the most recent spasm of hate in some forsaken corner of the world.

It was about love.

There was widespread coverage of an event last Tuesday honoring former BU hockey player Travis Roy on the 20th anniversary of the freak accident, just seconds into his first varsity game, that left him paralyzed. We've had ample opportunity over the years to marvel at the strength and grace displayed by Travis and his family, along with his great work raising millions for the Travis Roy Foundation, which funds research and help for others with spinal cord injuries.

But until Kevin Cullen of the Boston Globe wisely decided to quote from them at length, I hadn't heard about Roy's eloquent remarks.

Read Cullen's column for the full beauty of it, but what really got me was when Roy said: "…[T]onight has provided the catalyst I needed to face the next 20 years. My life does have value, my work, along with my friends and family, have helped me create a life that is very rich….I feel so loved. That's my energy."

Listen to Jon's commentary:

As Cullen notes, this is a definition of wealth worth reflecting on. Travis Roy's humility and understanding of what "values" are really all about is awesome and humbling to behold.

And in a culture where envy, bitterness, greed and all of hate's other cousins too often seem to predominate, his point about the overriding value of love is something every last one of us would do well to internalize.