Leaving a Mark

"What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.” ~Albert Pine

When I was walking to the pool this weekend, I noticed initials etched into the sidewalk.
This got me thinking....the people who left their initials in that concrete wanted to leave a mark. Something showing that they were here so that they won't be forgotten. Something immortal. Don't we all want to do that...not with a stick on sidewalks...but with our lives?

If there is one thing true about life, it is that it moves fast. And things that are important and people that are popular one day, may be out the next. I remember going to the State FFA Convention about 5 years after I graduated to introduce Little Brother for his Retiring Address as a State Officer. A couple of kids were talking to me before the speech. They didn't recognize my name at all, but when I said I was "Little Brother's Sister" the light bulb went off. They proceeded to ask me if I had been in FFA.

"Was I in FFA?!?! What is with you kids these days? How can you not know that I was in FFA??" No, I didn't say that. But I thought it. Here's the thing--I was sort of a big deal in FFA. Not bragging, but our teams went to 5 National Contests. We were Reserve National Champions twice. I was State Star Farmer for crying out loud. Everyone knew the kids from Logan. But once we were gone, and the people who knew us were gone, we became nobodies to the FFA members.

The same thing happened to me last week. I was at the law school library. I used to know everyone in that school. I'm a really outgoing person, I tutored the two classes below me, and I had killer good outlines for finals. People knew me. But now those students who were in school when I was there are gone. I've become a nobody to the law students too.

I think this is a good lesson. If we strive to leave our mark based on our succeses---on winning a contest or on having the best outlines---we are going to surely be forgotten. Our marks won't last. But if we try instead to leave our mark on people in our lives....by being caring and kind and loving and supportive....well I think that is the only way to get a piece of the immortality that we're searching for.

I look back at the people in my own life who we have lost. And when I do, I don't remember their accomplishments. I remember the last hug they gave me. I remember them believing in me, when I wasn't sure I believed in myself. I remember their laughs. I remember them being there for me when bad things happened. I remember them being involved in whatever it was that I was doing. Those people left their mark on me. And if I have anything to say about it, they won't be forgotten.

Or, alternatively, the initials in the sidewalk had no deeper meaning and were just some hoodlum kids causing trouble. Hmm...