The discussions, planning, expectations, arguing, pain, happiness, excitement, anticipation, worrying, experiencing…
All of it will be over.
Done.
Finished.
The end.
There will be no need to research cures for diseases and ailments
or worry about having any of them happen to you.
Your life experience will have ended.
Not you or anyone else can escape the inevitable.
You will eventually die.
The mystery is that you do not know how many years, months, days, hours, minutes or seconds are left for you.
One day you will be here and then you will be gone.
What impression will you leave behind and how will you be remembered?
Will anything you have ever thought or done validate your life?
Will people think of you with fondness
because you were
thoughtful, kind, helpful,
faithful, responsible, sincere,
honest, loyal, hard working, grateful,
courageous, friendly, happy, flexible, charismatic,
humble, reliable, trustworthy, empathetic,
intelligent, courteous, respectful or loving?
Or will your memory be unpleasant
because you were someone who was
lazy, abusive, vindictive, cruel,
thoughtless, selfish, weak willed,
harsh, grumpy, narrow-minded, materialistic,
arrogant, greedy, superficial, vain, rude,
callous, uncommitted, a cheat, stubborn,
controlling, wasteful, indecisive or a liar?
People are going to remember you one way or another
and that memory is based entirely on how you live your life.
You are the master of your choices which in turn determines your character.
Your actions will always speak louder and longer than your words…
Did you keep the extra change when the cashier made a mistake?
Did you visit and help the elderly and sick?
Were you courteous and respectful of people who knew you as well as those you just met?
Were you a liar and cheater because you were good at keeping it a secret?
Did you work hard to provide for yourself and your family?
Did you verbally and physically abuse the people who loved you?
Were you a slave to your physical appetites and desires?
Everyday you interact with other people.
In so doing, you leave an impression.
The impression you make is as individualized as your fingerprint.
It doesn’t matter how many people LIKE you on Facebook,
follow you on Twitter,
read your blog,
report to you at work,
know you at church,
read about you in magazines or
watch you on television.
The size of your house,
model of your car,
price of your clothing,
amount of money in your bank account,
number of degrees on your wall
and the color of your hair
won’t mean much to anyone for very long.
All of those things will pale in comparison to who you really are – your character and soul.
Everything you do today reflects the essence of you.
Only you choose what impression you leave behind for others.
What feeling and vibe do you give off?
You can either have a positive or negative influence on those you come in contact.
It is your life.
Your experience.
Your legacy.
What will you leave behind?
How will you be remembered?
How do you want to be remembered?
It is totally your choice.
Choose wisely.
Well, that is a sad thing to think about on this beautiful fall morning. How do I want people to remember me? I already know how loved I am in my family, but will those people pass that on to others? And what if I outlive them? I won’t have grandchildren to pass on the stories about me to the following generation. So I guess I won’t worry about that too much. Just getting through this life contentedly is good enough for me. I do try to help others and hopefully, that counts for something.
Lots and lots of people know you! I can think of so many things about you and they are all positive! I think you have positively touched more lives than you give yourself credit for or even realize. {{{hugsss}}}
I love this post! It is definitely something to think about. Applauds to you, it was very well done! 🙂
Thanks Joan! 😀
Do you think I’m going to tell you how I want to be remembered? Not a chance, but I’ll give you one hint. One of the things I would like to be remembered for is my humor. 🙂
There’s so many wonderful things about you, Joan. You are unforgettable in so many ways that I can’t even list them. I’m blessed beyond words to have you as my friend.
I want to be remembered for the thing I love the most, being a good mom and Nanny
🙂 You have been a great Mom and Nanny and so many other wonderful things! 😀