To be remembered!  It is an all-too human desire.  We create memorials of all kinds.  Some are made of granite and marble while others are made of ideas and memories.  We want to believe that we have made a difference in our world and believe that we will be remembered for it.  We want to know that our legacy will not be lost in the depths or time.

The picture above is a child’s footprint in the sand of Surfside Beach.  It has long since disappeared in the wind and waves along the Gulf.  I am sure that the child had no thought of wanting this footprint to withstand the ravages of time.  He or she was too busy enjoying their day at the beach.  They may have been captivated by the gulls dancing on the breeze.  They may have felt their feet sinking into the sand as the surf swirled around them.  They were too busy living to worry about being remembered.

One of the keys to living is in letting go of all that desire for being remembered.  We simply leave our footprints on the beach at the edge of a vast ocean of time.  We free ourselves to fully live in this moment by emptying ourselves of a need to control our legacy.  Just as forgiving allows us to let go of the past, forgetting the future allows us to let go of tomorrow.  Popular wisdom tells us that what others think about us is none of our business.  The same is said for the future.  How we are to be remembered is none of our business.  By living our lives in service to tomorrow steals away too much of today.

Live like a child on a beach.  Cherish the moment just as it is.  Celebrate the world around you.  Embrace the companions who share the moment.  Allow your lives to be enriched by the experiences of the living.  Do not allow a single moment to be lost worrying about how time will treat your legacy.  Let go and live with joy and hope, love and trust.  This is our day, our time.  Savor every morsel!  Live well!

Bob