A couple of weeks ago I turned on the television to catch a news segment that had Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch as the featured guest. Seeing as justices on the Supreme Court are not routine commentators in the daily news cycle, I watched with great interest as the interviewer ran through a gamut of topics, but there was one statement made that really struck me, and even though I was sitting in traffic, and in the state where I live using a cell phone is against the law, I quickly grabbed my phone and sent my self a quick e-mail to remind me of what was said with the intent to expand on the idea here.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, that time to expand has arrived, and this week I want to jump into the idea presented and see if I can’t develop it a bit further and draw out application that we can use in our own lives.
Justice Gorsuch introduced the idea that, we all will be forgotten soon enough. I think what most impacted me about that statement was the person delivering it. Whether you are aware of it or not, but being appointed to the Supreme Court is not only a unique and rare opportunity, but one that comes with a lifetime appointment. As such, much like the presidency or other high positions, there simply are not that many people across a long spectrum of time, who ever achieve that status, and as such remembering those folks really is not that difficult.
However, he suggests that we all will be forgotten soon enough. The wisdom in that statement is profound, and in almost all cases factual. We all have known people who have passed on, and yet how often are those people brought back up in conversation? I know for me personally, despite the numerous folks I have known who are no longer here, with the exception of one, I really do not reflect back on those folks. As a side note, I have taken to adding their date of passing in my phone, refusing to delete their info, so that from time to time when scrolling my contacts, I see their names and are reminded, at least for a brief moment, of them and their role in my life.
But let’s circle back to the idea at hand though. Would it be wrong of me to suggest, that if we all will be forgotten soon enough, that we spend out time that we have doing things that will work to prolong that legacy?
As I pondered this subject, I routinely went back to my own phone, and the list of those whom I had known who are no longer here. It really did not take long to realize a trend. The one person on that list who routinely comes up in conversation, is in fact a person whose legacy affected not only my own life, but the lives of many. The fact is, in the case of that person, his time spent living was done in such a way as to truly impact those he did life with. In passing, those who knew him realized a tremendous loss that extended far beyond the typical grief and pain felt when one loses someone they care about.
I don’t know about you, but for me that is a pretty powerful thought, but one that I want to embrace and apply to my own life. Are the things I’m doing with the ones I’m doing life with making an impact that will be felt long after I’m gone from this earth? Am I living my life for me, or am I living my life in such a way as to speak into the lives of others investing into those people so as to make their lives better as well.
In other words, am I living for me, or am I living in such a way as to leave a legacy that lasts far beyond my time here on earth.
I will be honest, I do not know the answer to that question. I would like to think the answer is, “Yes”, but the truth is, I really do not know, and I probably will not know as that question will not get fully answered until a time long after I am no longer here.
I think the challenge, at least for me, is pretty clear. I need to make sure that the time I have here on earth is spent making the lives of those I do life with, better. Is that a challenge you might be up to as well?
My objective is to find ways to speak into the lives of others, whether that is an investment of time, talent or something else, embracing those opportunities I firmly believe will help make the world I live in better, and I trust in doing so will make the lives I am fortunate enough to touch better as well.
Does that mean I’ll be remembered when I am gone? I really do not know. But until I am gone, I will be intentional about making choices that seek to accomplish that goal. I do not for a second think the goal is easy, but then again nothing in life worth doing is easy.
And who knows, maybe the time it takes to forget me will take longer than others, and the lives I impact in turn choose to impact lives that they come into contact with.
Seems simple enough, doesn’t it?
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