We all leave a trail in our life.
We are all trailblazers: every day we move into the virgin wilderness of the new day. Every night we make our campfire in the evening, the day's trail behind us lost in the darkness of time.
The trail itself is, for the most part invisible, a series of events and encounters and feelings which for the most part are transient in nature (but not always). There are times we leave physical presence, for good or ill - a gift, a thing built; on the other side an injury, a scar physical or psychic. But really, we cannot see the trail we leave for the most part.
But that trail never really disappears.
I can recall kindnesses and injuries done to me years ago from the trails of others: the times I was excluded or I in turn excluded others, the times things were taken from me or I took things from others, words of kindness or ill intent for which I can still picture the sound of the voice in my head and the place it happened.
Every day, a trail in the lives of others.
We cannot change the trail up to this point: it is engraved in the merciless stone of the past with a pen made of adamantium. But the trail today is ours for the writing: we can leave whatever sorts of mark we want on the paper of today. And it lies within our power to leave a trail of kindness, of thoughts and memories that will follow our memory in the lives of others with joy and encouragement and good feelings.
No matter what, we will leave that trail. And if we are doing so anyway, why not a trail of kindness?
An interesting take on life's journey TB, indeed why not leave a better impression on others? Course a few folk don't think about others, they're only concerned with themselves.
ReplyDeleteNylon12, I had never thought of it before this quote, but we really all do leave an invisible thread behind us throughout the lives of others. Or maybe it had not become so real to me until more recently, when staring down the barrel of the last third of one's life makes one look back a lot more.
DeleteJust wait until that last third shrinks down further TB, OAFS and I are the same age.....:)
DeleteNylon12, I hear the second hand running in the back of my mind...
DeleteI am reminded of our priest's sermon this morning and that one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit is the fear of God. Having fear sets guiderails that sort of keep us on the path. Likewise, remembrance of the past trails that have crossed our path, keep our mind in the frame of trying to do more kindness unto others lest we end up as a bad memory on someone else's remembered trail.
ReplyDeleteInteresting Ed. I had never heard of the fear of God as a gift, but that certainly makes sense (as plenty of people do not have that gift).
DeleteI certainly wish I had grasped the concept of being a trail in the lives of others much earlier. I might have made different choices.
Part of "renewing our mind"is seeing "" the same as always" through God's Kingdom Perspective. It's living with intent, not reflex or disinterest. Seeing our lifes tracks in another's life is definitely a change of perspective.
ReplyDeleteSTxAR - Yes, it is a very different perspective indeed. If we saw our lives as a trail through others, I wonder how differently we would have lived them.
DeleteAnd they may never know our names.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite possible, John. Who knows but a single act of unknown kindness may change a life's trajectory?
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