Father's Day is one of those "celebrations" that can be anything but for a lot of people. Some have difficult relationships with their fathers, others may be forced to remember a dad that has passed on, making the day bittersweet at best. Dwayne Johnson may have fallen into this latter category this year as he celebrated his first Father's Day without his own father, former wrestling champion Rocky Johnson. The Rock took the opportunity to tell everybody to hold on tight to their own loved ones.
The Rock remembered his dad on the special day by posting an old video about his father on Instagram, but alongside a brand new message. It's only been a few months sine Rocky Johnson died and his son clearly still feels it, but the actor knows he's not the only who has been through this. In the video, Dwayne Johnson reveals a conversation he had with his father after telling his dad he wanted to buy him his dream house. In the accompanying post, Johnson wrote...
A few weeks after I posted this, my dad found his dream home. 3 months later he moved in. 8 months later he passed away. Died suddenly and I never got a shot to say goodbye. A real kick in the gut but I know I’m not alone, because it’s what we all signed up for in this unpredictable cycle of life.
Certainly, we never know what life has in store for us or our loved ones. Considering that Dwayne Johnson followed in his father's footsteps and became a professional wrestler, we can guess that Rocky Johnson had a profound influence on his son. The fact that he literally bought his dad a house shows how there was zero expectation that he wouldn't be around to enjoy it.
The Rock is, of course, also a father and so he's seeing this relationship from both sides. While he clearly still misses his own father, he sees the loss as a reason to hold his own family that much tighter. The Rock appreciates the time he had with his own dad, and probably wants to make sure his own kids don't have any regrets, and also doesn't want to have any of his own when his own time comes. He recommends that everybody else do the same.
Be present and squeeze every bit of juice out of life that we can, because we never know when our journey comes to an end. Live full, my friends.
Check out the full post and video that inspired it below.
While Dwayne Johnson is a tough guy on the big screen, and also in real life, he's also a guy that wears his heart on his sleeve and isn't afraid to show real emotion. Whether on Father's Day or any other day, hopefully this is advice that everybody can use.
