“Your gifts will bring you home.”
It’s an extraordinary line… and it’s a line my mother quoted to me years ago when I was lost in my career, unsure of which direction to pursue.
Although my mother was not religious, she had great appreciation for all religions, and she mentioned that this particular line came from a Christmas poem about the Journey of the Magi.
So here on Christmas night, as I think of the Magi following the North Star which led them to where they needed to be; as I think back on 2011 and the close of a year, of what I did and didn’t do; as I think about legacy and what we each leave behind, I’m reminded of another poem, this one by the poet W.S. Merwin…also about stars and light.
It’s called, “For the Anniversary of My Death” and it begins…
Every year without knowing it
I have passed the day
When the last fires will wave to me
And the silence will set out
Tireless traveller
Like a beam of a lightless star.
It’s a breathtaking concept: that each year, we pass the anniversary of our deaths…and that the influence of our lives—like the light of a star—will continue to travel through time and space for generations, sometimes for hundreds of years.
My mother has left this world, but her light still shines for me and for many of us here on Christmas.
I’m sure the same is true for you: many people who have had a significant influence on your life may no longer be here. Some are long gone; some have only recently just left.
But their light continues to shine.
Your legacy and your light will shine, too.
Give of your talents.
Sprinkle them wherever you can.
You may never know the extent of their effect, but if your Through Line & intention are pure, your message will travel for generations to come.
People may not remember your title or income, the total number your Twitter followers or Facebook fans, but they will remember what you stood for and the specific expressions of your unique prism: your gestures of kindness, creativity, love…and the generosity of spirit you exhibited in the style and way that only you can.
You are the best expression of you. Your gifts will bring you home, and they will light the way for others. Follow your Through Line.
It already knows where you are meant to be.
