We’re forced to look inward. We reflect on the past.
Did we spend enough time with an aged parent, we wonder.
Did we express our gratitude for all the sacrifices that they made for us?
Did we tell a spouse just how desperately we love them, not just once in a while, but every single day?
So some loss causes us to look backward, but it also forces us to look forward,
to reflect on the present and the future, on the manner in which we live our lives and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us.
We may ask ourselves, have we shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives? Perhaps we question whether we’re doing right by our children, or our community, whether our priorities are in order.
We recognize our own mortality. And we are reminded that, in the fleeting time we have on this earth, what matters is not wealth or status or power or fame, but rather how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better.
- Barack Obama, January 12, 2011
1 comment:
Many do not recognize the fact that after we have left this world, people do not remember how much money we have, how big a car we have driven, or how big a house we owned.....
We will only be remembered for the part we had played in their lives.
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