Who’s to say, really? None of us knows how we’ll be remembered. We have some general ideas, for the most part, but it will depend completely upon the kindness of others that will determine how or even if we’ll be remembered. The mask that we have so cleverly donned when meeting those we thought we knew and respected us has fallen away for all to see.
That slight-of-hand that you used pulling off in your business dealings fooled no one other than yourself. People talk. People always talk. And it was only a matter of time before they started comparing notes about the way you handled yourself.
Were you the one who spent all the waking hours at the office with no time for your family or friends? Your time away from your loved ones cannot be stock-piled like next year’s firewood. Is it a small wonder that when you finally did decide to put your feet up there was no one there to share it with? Weren’t you the one who wanted to sit in the first or second pew in church on Sunday and then (screw) everyone during the week and asked for forgiveness the following week? Who knows how much of that your children picked up on?
Did you give your love willingly to those who loved you or were there strings, clauses and stipulations attached? When your friends asked for counsel or advice, did you give it freely and openly or did you smother their plans and/or dreams and then explain that you were neither an optimist nor a pessimist, you were a realist? Did you bolster their confidence or were they muttering to themselves when they left? Did you constantly push those around you to be the best they could be or were you lackadaisical in your tutelage knowing then that they would never outshine you?
Winners build up. Losers tear down. Which one were you? When meeting a stranger on the street with his hand out, did you give him a smile and a kind word and maybe something for his stomach or did you wave him/her off and tell yourself that they choose to live like that and it’s not up to you to save the world? Were you the type of person that all types were attracted to or were you the one everyone went out of their way to avoid? My grandparents used to say that some people cause happiness wherever they go and some cause happiness whenever they go. Which one were you? Which slot did you fit into?
When people walk away from you, is there an added bounce in their step or are their shoulders slumped and do they regret the time they spent with you? Make ‘em glad they met you, Michael, make ‘em glad. Ease their burden if for only a minute or two. And make ‘em smile. (More advice from my grandparents). But in retrospect, it doesn’t boil down to how you’re remembered, does it? You’ll be dead. The real trick is in how you walked this earth when you had your chance. Even if you do the best you possibly can at best it’s still a crap-shoot. The important part, what they will talk about is how you lived your life and that, my friend, is entirely in your hands. Make ‘em glad they met you. Make ‘em glad and make ‘em smile. You still have time. At least, that’s the way I see it. God bless. ML Proko (2011) more at www.mikeproko.com
Life In America 