Ultimate Realization

I am still going through my old writing, and I found another piece I'd like to share.  Again, it tells how a realization can push your thoughts into a totally different direction.  This week, I feel nostalgic.  I admit, below may be considered amateur, but it is an anecdote about one of my life's discoveries.  Enjoy!

Ultimate Realization

The day was clear and sunny.  Although the July sun beat down heavily, there was a slight breeze swaying the trees as I made my way through the myriad of white headstones lining the ground in perfect, neat rows.  I had always looked upon the grave sites as a collective whole, not as individual graves. 

This particular day was different, though—an epiphany of sorts!  I glanced at the dates on one particular head stone; it read: “Mary Caldwell—1848-1874—a brief glimmer of sunlight through the trees”.   All of a sudden, my attention seemed out of my control, riveted to soaking in the meaning of the inscription.  This person was the same age as I am now when she passed away.  That seemed so young, with so many promises yet to fulfill—like me.  Yet somehow, it was obvious, she had impacted individuals and brought joy into their lives—so much so that they felt compelled to engrave that epitaph on her gravestone.  I tried to picture her in my mind.  What color were her eyes and hair?  How tall was she?  How did she spend her days?  How did she die?  I had so many questions bouncing around in my head, I felt almost dizzy. 

Then, conversations I had had with family and friends during the past months began taking the place of the circling questions.  In those conversations, I had scrutinized and battered myself over how long it was going to take me to graduate from college and become employed.  I had complained about how the years were getting away from me; how I was afraid I was going to die without getting anything of note accomplished during my lifetime; how I “hadn’t made my mark on the world”.

Now came this moment of realization, looking at this gravestone.  A new awareness started to overtake me.  In my mind, I repeated the words on the marker—“a brief glimmer of sunlight through the trees”.  “That can surely be me,” I thought.

I had started to understand that it is not through your accomplishments or fame that individuals will remember you.  Instead, it is through the kindness you show to those around you—how you work to uplift the spirit of others.  “If I can be that brief, but ever-present ‘sunlight through the trees’,” I thought, “maybe my life, too, will be worth remembering.”