The other day I took myself out to lunch. They were playing 70s country music.
This is not everyone’s favorite.
But it’s the music I grew up listening to.
My dad loved Waylon Jennings and Barbara Mandrell. I developed a lifelong love for Don Williams and Kenny Rogers. I met Kenny Rogers when I was 17 years old – one of my favorite celebrity meets, for sure!
As I was enjoying my meal and listening to the songs, I realized that most 17 year olds wouldn’t even recognize the artists.
My mind wandered, as it does, and I thought about how quickly things fade.
I can still hear my grandmother’s voice in my mind, but her mother’s voice has faded from my memory.
It seems that an individual human life is soon forgotten.
Even if you are famous enough to have your own eponymous TV show like Dolly Parton or Barbara Mandrell, it will soon fade away…within a generation or two.
I find the fact that my life’s legacy is fleeting a delicious form of freedom.
So many of the people I work with worry about doing the “right” thing because of the judgment of others.
And, in truth, you get to decide how much you’ll let other people’s opinions of you dictate your choices and your actions.
Yet remembering that one day we’ll all be but a distant memory could be a source of liberation for you, too.
We are here for a short time.
What would you do more of if you connected to the fact that your legacy will evaporate?
What would you do less of?
My time horizon seems to be shortening. Realizing “wow, famous in 1973, practically forgotten in 2023!” is evidence of my mind focusing more on NOW.
I am silly NOW.
I will take a walk NOW, today.
I tell them I love them NOW.
My chance to make an impact is NOW, here, for these people closest to me.
I’m delighted to recognize that I’m likely to be soon forgotten.
Means I pay very, very close attention to remembering myself and what I can do right now.
Have fun reflecting on this in your own life.Â
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