THE LEGACY WE LEAVE BEHIND

















This morning, a young boy was speaking on the topic - ‘What Money Means to Me’. He quoted Bill Gates:





“If you are born in poverty, it is not your fault;

But, if you die in poverty, it certainly is.”





I had come across this famous statement of the Microsoft founder long before. Today, as our young-man was speaking on the stage, I found myself saying in my mind: “Hey, why poverty, is it not true everywhere else, too?”



We really can’t do anything about the condition we are born into. But, we can certainly do something about the condition we choose to live in… and, particularly, about the condition we leave behind, when we leave.



Just think about it, again…



Think about any area of life, any condition…



Yes, what we leave behind is always our legacy…



There is an old spiritual principle, whose beauty is concealed in such a legacy. This age-old principle urges all of us that when we leave any place, we should strive to leave it a lot better than how we found it when we first walked in…



Any place that is...

Be it the company we keep or the company we work for…


Be it the colony we come to live in or the family we plan to raise…


Be it the institution we join to learn or teach or be it the relationships we weave around…


Be it the bed we sleep over, or the plates  we eat from… or, even the toilets we use!




As our young-man was using Bill Gates’ famed lines to make his point, today, I could see the wider and deeper significance of those words in all walks of life…



The condition that I walk into is never in my hands; it is neither my choice nor my fault…



But then, the condition that I walk out from, always, is…



Yes, it is in my hands… It is my choice…



It is the legacy I choose to leave behind.





GERALD D’CUNHA 


Pic.: Gloria Pinto

Comments

Nitin Kant said…
True sir, absolutely. Nitin
Usha Suvarna said…
This spiritual principle is indeed powerful, yet simple. Love.
....... Usha
Anonymous said…
Inspiring as always!------ Ishna

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

"WE CHOOSE OUR JOYS AND SORROWS LONG BEFORE WE EXPERIENCE THEM."

WHEN A BIRD IS ALIVE, IT EATS ANTS... WHEN THE BIRD DIES, ANTS EAT THE BIRD

THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...