I know that Steve Jobs, the person, is a divisive subject. But I found this eulogy, given by his sister Mona Simpson, the author, very touching. Of course, none of us will ever know whether or not Steve Jobs was more the villain or the saint. As with most of us, the truth lies in the middle I suppose....
A Sisters Eulogy for Steve Jobs
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/opinion/mona-simpsons-eulogy-for-steve-jobs.html?_r=1
Thank you so much for this link.
IMO, it is not my place to judge Steve Jobs and how he lived his life and interacted with those he met throughout his life-- or even what he chose to do to treat his cancer.
My late husband was a Native American who was raised for his first 5 years by Elders, then forced into the Canadian Government's notorious residential school system. He was a brilliant man with a photographic memory who was only allowed to get a 4th-grade education. When he finally left the school, he struggled for years to support himself and the various women/wives he had throughout his life. But he also was born with a gift, and became a renowned and honored Traditional Healer of his people. He was gentle and kind, and that gentleness and kindness radiated off of his like a beacon and drew the sick and troubled to him for their healing. He saw the world in a unique way -- as he stood in a place between the earth and the Spirit World and did the Creator's work. However, for those of us who assisted him in his work, he was a perfectionist and a hard taskmaster and expected only the best from us. And we are all better for it.
Steve Jobs reminds me of my late husband in some ways. I have compassion for Jobs and understand that how his life circumstances (being adopted and "rejected" by his birth father, etc.) influenced the decisions he made. Like my husband, Jobs was extremely intelligent and saw the world in a different way than most -- I imagine that, like my husband, he could sometimes get a bit impatient with those who could not keep up with him intellectually. From reading the link you shared from the NY Times article, I can see that Jobs' was finally able to find a compatible partner and have a family, and I am sure that was a stabilizing factor for him. That he searched for his sister and developed a relationship with her is heartwarming.
Humans are not painted in black and white, but in wonderful shades of grey. Jobs was a human being like the rest of us, a wonderful blending of goodness and bad, light and darkness. My late husband always said that the only thing perfect in the universe is the Creator/God. The rest of us are just human trying to walk straight and stay on the right path.