Legacy

I had 25 minutes to kill while I was waiting on the boys to finish ukulele practice. Not much time. Near the lessons is a huge cemetery; Westover memorial. My mom told me growing up that dad took her here on a first date. I always thought that a little odd. Taking your date to a cemetery these days would be considered a huge red flag...swipe left! But to the cemetery they went. And they've been married ever since. 

I have always like the interesting cemeteries. The ones with the big headstones and statues..the interesting ones. In college I did some kind of research paper on a cemetary in Rome, GA. I found the first doctor to perform an Ooferectomy. I found babies buried by anguishing parents. Small statues and bassinets don't belong in a graveyard and yet, there they stood. I sat there watching visitors enter. The groundsman mowed. A motorcycle drove through. And I thought to myself, what's the point? Unless we live a good life that is productive and influencial; unless we have a purpose, it is all for naught. We end up as a name carved into rock with no distinguishing marks except for the few words under that name. Three or four words that are supposed to sum up all of who we are or were. 

That tells me one thing. What matters is not your legacy. Your legacy only lasts for a couple of generations. What matters is your life today.  What matters is your everyday interactions with one another and the world around you. What matters is the love and compassion you give that effects just one person. That will be felt far more deeply than a stone with your name on it.