Am I Just Leaving?

“My son helped a refugee from Africa to create a foundation to help others who share in his own, former dire circumstances.” – Steve Farley

Am I just Leaving?

Sometimes we fall into a trap of believing that we’ll live forever!  When we do so, we begin to fail to appreciate our existence on this planet and forget how fragile our lives are.  But, there are prompts all around us and I was reminded of how delicate life is during the past couple of weeks.

I was working with my friends Don and Erika for multiple days and noticed that Don would all of a sudden step away to have some quiet time on the phone.  I just assumed it was business until he looked visibly shaken after one particular call.

“We think my mother has throat cancer!” He explained as he walked over from a clearly difficult conversation with his brother.  We got a call that she has cancer and then we got another call telling us they weren’t sure!  We don’t know what to think right now!”

When we finished our work Erika left to fly to Texas to help her failing mother and Don flew directly to Florida to see if he could get a handle on his mother’s situation.  I could see uncertainty and doubt in their faces as I left them airport bound.

It was fortunate that I was able to finish the first phase of our business within a couple of days from their departure.  And, didn’t really have any worries until Erika sent me a text message about one week later.  I had just assumed everything was going along well for them.  They are such bright and capable people!  But, Erika informed me that Don’s mother had passed away suddenly and that it had nothing to do with the confirmed cancer.

Don’s mother’s passing reminded me that death could come at any second and change everything.  It could be the death of a loved one or it can be your own.  So, don’t spend endless time on things that don’t really matter.  Doing so is insanity.  Life is temporary.  Make every day meaningful.

I love to discuss things of meaning with my friend Steve because he’s a good and smart man.  We’re also the same age (though I always remind him that he’s six months older than I am) so we’re always in the same season of life.  I also know that he understands the impact of death on ones life more than most.  So, we were taking a few precious moments to explore the concept of fading memory.

Fading memory happens to all people.  No, I don’t mean the dementia or Alzheimer’s type of fading memory.  I mean that the life of almost every person born on earth has about a two generational time frame.  For example, I knew only one of my grandparents, but I can remember her and a little about her.  My children, however, do not have any memory of her at all!  To them, she never really existed!

Steve was telling me that he has had a similar experience.  “My grandparents were amazing people.  They accomplished a lot!  But my children have no knowledge of them at all.  It’s made me reevaluate what really has importance in life and accomplishment.”

Then he went on to say, “My son helped a refugee from Africa to create a foundation to help others who share in his own, former dire circumstances. His involvement in helping people, who really need the help right now, has helped me to remember what is of real importance and value.”

Doing memorable good is of real importance!  The people helped by the foundation Steve’s son is involved with will have children that will remember the good it produced for generations to come.  No, they won’t remember Steve’s son or really know much about him, but the good he has done will continue to live on in perpetuity.   Today’s children, and their children will live in better circumstances as a direct result of his efforts.  It is becoming an organic, growing memory and legacy.

Do you want to leave a growing memory and legacy as a result of your life?  If you do, then perhaps you might like to begin to ask yourself the same, or similar question I’ve decided to ask myself each day now. 

Am I leaving a legacy of good, or am I just leaving?