An Investment Guide

“Buildings in Memoriam”

An Investment Guide

It was a home coming of sorts.  A friend had invited me to attend a Drum and Bugle Corps event at the first University I attended so many years ago.  I had many fond memories flood into my mind as we made our way to the stadium.  The last time I had been in that stadium was for graduation.  But it was the walk to the stadium on this day that made such an impression for me.

As I walked along past the Science Center, Strength & Conditioning Center, and the entrance to the Stadium I read signs that memorialized personal names on the buildings.  Of course, I’ve seen many buildings named for people before.  I understand it’s a way for Universities to raise additional capital as well as acquire new facilities.  But, but there was something different about these buildings.

The difference was that I actually knew all of these people before they had passed away.  I had a personal relationship with them; perhaps most importantly they were all people who had had a positive impact on my life for varied reasons.  So, while the University had received a facility, I had received something much more valuable; friendship, mentorship, true leaning and personal growth.

From the focus of this story you would automatically come to the conclusion that my experiences with these people were in relation to the University and my studies there.  But that conclusion would not be correct.  My relationship with every one of these people was community based.  I had been in all of their homes and had seen how they lived in everyday lives.  I saw how they interacted with their spouses and children.  I learned at their very feet.

On this day, when my feet had taken me to my seat and the drums began to beat and the bugles blew during the competition, I sat thinking.  A warm rush of remembrance filled my whole body as I mentally saw the faces of my mentors and friends a new.  All of them have now passed, but their impact on me has never passed away.  I am who I am today in large part because of their example, teaching, caring, giving and goodness.

I sat wondering if I was really following their legacy in my own life.  Am I giving enough of myself to everyone around me?  Am I as caring, good and giving as they were?  Would they give me a passing grade?  Have I become as they were?

I pondered and thought as pageantry presented itself all around me.  The music was beautiful, the costumes were colorful and the youthful energy displayed was dazzling.  I was watching young men and women who were the recipients of mentorship as I had received and their lives were the expression of talent, discipline, and love. 

Their exemplary being is their true reward; it was not the trophy that would be presented at the end of this night’s competition.  They will benefit from the teaching and goodness of others until the end of their days.

The “end of my days” was ushered into my ears through their music as the answer to my own questions as they were spinning around in my head.  As long as I invest in the lives of others until I am no more, then I will have lived up to gifts that others have given to me; invested in me.

When you invest, make sure you’re investing in life.  Don’t let your greatest investment be wasted on things that have no life or the ability to give life.  Pass on goodness.  Give your knowledge to others.  Impress your love on as many other people as possible.