Things to think on

Try not to become a man off success, but rather try to become a man of value - Albert Einstein

* also applies to women

While I stroll down my life's path, I occassionally notice the litter collecting in the gutters. A great many diverse people have taken this route; some running, some walking, and some setting up camp in the clearings, but all of them leave a little bit behind. I've often pondered the pieces of ourselves that we discard. It's a necessity, for certain. No one can manage to drag all of their baggage the entire way, but I wonder what drives our choices. As I cast about the debris, I see hopes and dreams. I see childhood passions and true personal convictions. I see religions and philosophies. I find unrequited loves and timeless romances. There are so many amazing, life-shaping pieces of souls cast out for the sake of an expedient journey, and I question our sacrifices. I imagine a great many of these decisions are attached to extenuating circumstances that have forced hands, but not all of them. No not all of them. In our quest to achieve and excel, a great many of us have tossed away inconvenient truths and peeled away character traits to lighten our loads and quicken our steps.

Are we becoming the people that we want to be? In the process of shedding everything we are in order to obtain some hollow victories, what have we lost? Are people going to remember you? What will your legacy be? I want to be remembered for enriching lives and contributing to the adventure. I want people to smile when they think of me and I want to be a person who has left everything a little better than I found it. I want to be a man of value. What do you want?