"BIRTH AND DEATH AND "THE MESS IN BETWEEN"

My father, George, once said something to me when I was young, which I will never forget, “Son, when you were born, you cried while the world at large rejoiced. Strive to live your life in such a way that when you die the world cries while you rejoice.”

We appear to have forgotten what common decency in life is all about in this age. You know, we can almost effortlessly put a person on the Moon, but we have great difficulty walking across the street to welcome a new neighbor. So too can we fire a missile across the world with laser accuracy, but we cannot keep a date with our children to go to the library.

We have e-mail, fax machines, and cell phones so that we can stay connected and yet we live in a time where human beings have never before been less connected. In losing touch with our humanity, have we not also lost touch with our purpose?

 We have lost sight of the things that matter the most.

 And so, as you read this post, I respectfully ask you, Who will cry when you die? How many lives will you have touched in the time you have had the privilege to walk this planet?

One of the lessons I have learned in my own life is that if you don’t act on life, life has a habit of acting on you. The days slip into weeks, the weeks slip into months and the months slip into years. Pretty soon life is all over and you are left with nothing more than a heart filled with regret over a life half lived.

What impact will your life have had on the next generation that follows you? And what legacy will you leave behind after you have taken your last breath?