So today as I was folding laundry I noticed my nephew's shirt had a statement on it. In big bold letters it says "I will make history". I couldn't help but find the irony in this statement. You see we're all making history one way or another. We make history as we live our lives day in and day out, with the people we meet, friends, family and even the meaningless encounters with people we don't know. Every step we take will send us another direction, some will step the same path over and over repeating mistakes and bringing misery, others will find new direction and in doing so find a way to create a new path and a better existence. With all the talk of politics and guns, I have quickly realized that the shirt represents an idea that I'd love for my children to embrace, I will make history, a history that will be talked about, not like we talk about our today.
There is no shortage of posts on facebook concerning the day to day events of our lives and I don't want my kids to look back on my little history day to day or even the big history of our country and realize that I didn't do that much to "make history" and that I let others "make it" for me. It would be a real shame. It made me think of ways my life has been impacted by others "history".
While out doing family research I came across an epitaph that still to this day makes me wonder, what would my "history" look like in a simple statement, on a stone, would it stand out enough to make others think? Would it be something that would impress someone even after I'm gone?
This one did..... a simple statement
"Defer not till tomorrow to be wise, for tomorrows 'sun on thee may never rise".
- William Congreve -
I don't know a thing about that family member but what I do know is he made history for me by leaving words on his stone that reminded me to think about the current day wisely because the next was not promised. I'll never forget his epitaph and the value those words had to me.
Most of the time when we think about making history our mind lingers towards, laws, historical stories, popular figures of the past and even a few people who have made an impression on us in our very short lives. Rarely do we stop to think about the history we are making daily. Every day, the decisions we make, the patterns and paths we follow are slowly making an impression on those we know, be it parents, children, nieces, nephews, neighbors, facebook "friends", spouses and friends.
The history I've shared with people I've known for years is often scattered with the good, the bad and the ugly. It is a long saga of triumphs and tradgedies that sometimes I'd rather not remember. I look back on many of my years and wonder, what if anything would I change and how would that have changed the history I've left with others? There are a times I know that even my personality, character and motivations have altered the outcome of a seemingly empty event or conversations, leaving behind a memory or a thought that will forever stay with the people I was around at that moment and the end result is permanant, it's history.
Today, strive to "make history" that is positive, uplifting and life changing! History that will encourage others to think about things in a different way, gain a feeling that helps them continue a journey they have long desired to quit or even do something that will make a difference to them. When you effectively pursue a life that "makes" history then you can know that your accomplishing something, don't let others make your history for you!!!
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