Of Life and Remembrance...
So much has been going on lately. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yadda, yadda, yadda…I am sure it is the same with every single one of you out there. We are, all of us, too busy, never have the time, wake up one day, dead…
There, I said it: Wake up one day dead.
What will be your legacy? What do we end up leaving behind for our loved ones to remember us by…
Today I found out that one of my co-workers lost their dad this past weekend. And with everything else that’s been going on in my mind, there seems to be enough fertile ground to plant the seeds of asking such questions.
Is it an ego thing to want to be remembered? To want to leave something behind so people will remember you? Is that why rich people have university and hospital buildings named after them?
Is this what we strive for? Some form of recognition? Some bid at immortality? Is this why is hurts us to be rejected or to feel like people are not paying enough attention to us? Do we just do things for the sake of doing them – such as mitzvahs or tasks for the greater good/volunteer/charitable works? Or is there an agenda?
This past weekend, my wonderful husband and I ‘worked’ our parish festival. The reason behind this anti-carny work was about as antithetical as it gets from working a carnival/festival. We were there to get people to pray. That’s right, a church festival where people should try to pray – what a concept. And I have to tell you we did not get very far with the ‘powers that be’ if you will about having a ‘booth’/space where we could dedicate time to praying the rosary. I would go into more detail here but that is for my husband to chronicle since it was his brain child to begin with….
Suffice it to say – we won a victory and indeed we had an ‘I Pray the Rosary’ table at the festival. We met some cool people. We made t-shirts and we prayed every night we were there. It felt really good – especially to be doing this with my husband – and to be praying with others – keeping the spiritual flame burning.
Meanwhile, I am reading a book I read when I was young. ‘The Song of Bernadette’ – it is the ‘fictionalized’ story (written by Franz Werfel) about the life of St. Bernadette of Lourdes (Bernadette Soubirous). In this book, Bernadette is a very poor, very simple country girl. She is a bit addlebrained. She has no clue about the outside world and she is not very devout at all in her Catholicism. Suddenly Bernadette’s world is turned upside down by a supernatural event. People are suddenly interested in her and her family. They want to know everything. Against her will, the young Bernadette is suddenly thrust into the spotlight. What has always amazed me about this is that she keeps her head. She keeps her simplicity. She keeps her integrity, honesty, and innocence. This to me is just astounding. Even though this child has lived a poorest of the poor existence, even though she has conflicting feelings about what is going on, she stays true to her innermost self. She suffers greatly because of this…yet she stays the course of her heart.
In the end – isn’t that what we all need to do? I am not trying to get preachy here or holier than thou on you all – take it as you wish – but deep down, what good will the legacy of buildings named after us, more wealth than we know what to do with and high-brow aspirations do us if we lose our selves in the process?
So do I want to be remembered when I go? I suppose. The measure of a life is not counted so much in those that you loved – but by those that loved you. Selfless acts, without expecting anything in return seem to be the most rewarding activities we can cultivate. The garden of our soul needs tending, I believe, more than any other part of our own cosmology of self or any other aspect of our existence for that matter.
There, I said it: Wake up one day dead.
What will be your legacy? What do we end up leaving behind for our loved ones to remember us by…
Today I found out that one of my co-workers lost their dad this past weekend. And with everything else that’s been going on in my mind, there seems to be enough fertile ground to plant the seeds of asking such questions.
Is it an ego thing to want to be remembered? To want to leave something behind so people will remember you? Is that why rich people have university and hospital buildings named after them?
Is this what we strive for? Some form of recognition? Some bid at immortality? Is this why is hurts us to be rejected or to feel like people are not paying enough attention to us? Do we just do things for the sake of doing them – such as mitzvahs or tasks for the greater good/volunteer/charitable works? Or is there an agenda?
This past weekend, my wonderful husband and I ‘worked’ our parish festival. The reason behind this anti-carny work was about as antithetical as it gets from working a carnival/festival. We were there to get people to pray. That’s right, a church festival where people should try to pray – what a concept. And I have to tell you we did not get very far with the ‘powers that be’ if you will about having a ‘booth’/space where we could dedicate time to praying the rosary. I would go into more detail here but that is for my husband to chronicle since it was his brain child to begin with….
Suffice it to say – we won a victory and indeed we had an ‘I Pray the Rosary’ table at the festival. We met some cool people. We made t-shirts and we prayed every night we were there. It felt really good – especially to be doing this with my husband – and to be praying with others – keeping the spiritual flame burning.
Meanwhile, I am reading a book I read when I was young. ‘The Song of Bernadette’ – it is the ‘fictionalized’ story (written by Franz Werfel) about the life of St. Bernadette of Lourdes (Bernadette Soubirous). In this book, Bernadette is a very poor, very simple country girl. She is a bit addlebrained. She has no clue about the outside world and she is not very devout at all in her Catholicism. Suddenly Bernadette’s world is turned upside down by a supernatural event. People are suddenly interested in her and her family. They want to know everything. Against her will, the young Bernadette is suddenly thrust into the spotlight. What has always amazed me about this is that she keeps her head. She keeps her simplicity. She keeps her integrity, honesty, and innocence. This to me is just astounding. Even though this child has lived a poorest of the poor existence, even though she has conflicting feelings about what is going on, she stays true to her innermost self. She suffers greatly because of this…yet she stays the course of her heart.
In the end – isn’t that what we all need to do? I am not trying to get preachy here or holier than thou on you all – take it as you wish – but deep down, what good will the legacy of buildings named after us, more wealth than we know what to do with and high-brow aspirations do us if we lose our selves in the process?
So do I want to be remembered when I go? I suppose. The measure of a life is not counted so much in those that you loved – but by those that loved you. Selfless acts, without expecting anything in return seem to be the most rewarding activities we can cultivate. The garden of our soul needs tending, I believe, more than any other part of our own cosmology of self or any other aspect of our existence for that matter.
Labels: Life and Death, Observations, Philosophy
posted by Colette at 3:08 PM
2 Comments:
What I want most to be remembered by is really just one thing - that I made a positive difference in someone's life. My wife, kids, family, obviously fit into this category, but there is something differently special about those relationships. I'd like to know that someone other than family will want to look back on my days with them and say that I made a difference.
Sure, I'd like to have a profound effect on the world for the better, pie in the sky, the sun and the moon, and all that jazz, but just helping one person (plus family) would be enough.
How totally unconvinced of your own worth and contribution you sound....and why is it pie in the sky? Is that what wanting to make a difference is?
For what it's worth - I can tell you that YOU DO make a difference and HAVE made a difference in other people's lives...I know you have. Not family - but others outside of your family circle.
Post a Comment
<< Home