What a strange count, Lecram. Well, it has been on my mind of late. Truth be told it has been on my mind ever since I was a wee tyke.
Perhaps it was all the funerals I attended as a kid… but most probably because I have faced that delicate sliver between life and death on more than one occasion. Just part and parcel of growing up as a sickly child, I suppose. I was always fully aware that, “here today and gone tomorrow” was a reality… no one escapes it.
And before you come to the conclusion that I was a morose death obsessed child… don’t. It was the awareness of my own mortality that fully convinced me to avail myself of the opportunities that life presented… for the most part.
So, what brought this on, Lecram? Actually, a couple of things I’ve been watching. Episodes of Time Team being one (BTW there are 20 seasons uploaded on Youtube)… and the other being a Swedish reality show “(there are currently 3 seasons up at Youtube.)
Think of the former show as “extreme archaeology” where the “team” has 3 days to dig and analyse a site to determine what was there and when. The latter show deals with Americans (of Swedish heritage) who are on a hunt for their direct familial connections to the old country. Both are fun to watch… if you are into those sort of things.
Both shows highlight people who have lived and died. What’s fascinating though is how they lived… and what they left behind. Be it contributions to the time they lived in or even to history… and/or (especially in the case of the latter) the legacy of a family line.
Being an only child my father’s line stops with me. Admittedly, continuing the line has never been a priority for me since the family line (my grandfather’s line) will go on with my cousin’s kids. I’m good with that.
Though the “contribution” part did set me thinking. Not that my motivation for doing anything is based on leaving a legacy. I’d like to think that most of what I do is perpetuated by some sort of passion… be it misplaced or not.
So, what do we have left to sum up our lives? I thought long and hard about this. Ultimately, mortality leaves behind a human story. Whether most will be aware of it or not, each and everyone of us lives one out until our bell tolls. It encompasses our loves, hates, victories and failures… and everything in between.
The wonderful part is that each of our stories are unique. Only we can determine what happens next. Our stories will intersect and intertwine with other stories being lived out making a bigger and grander one. And until we shuffle off this mortal coil in that final chapter we continue to author. My determination (and hope) is that it be a grand adventure. May it be for you as well.
Cheers!
