.JPG)
Most of us are familiar with Mary Stevenson's poem "Footprints in the Sand." Her poem primarily focuses on guidance from G-d and seeking help from a higher power during times of need and distress.
However, this idea has a flip-side, which can also be expressed through the metaphor of the footprints in the sand.
Often enough, we feel relatively confident in our own efforts in life. We put in what we put in, and then we expect results - or, at least, some type of meaningful response to our actions. For every task or mission we do, big or small, we set a predetermined amount of personal effort we will need to put in, and once we reach that quota, we tell ourselves "it's out of my hands now."
But if we are really honest with ourselves, and we take a broader look at the patterns of our lives and our nature, I believe we will find that we more often than not set the bar a little too low for ourselves.
After all is said and done, we look back, and everything seems to be a mush - indiscernible, vague outlines of what we accomplished. The essence of what we did in the past is lost with the past, as the new cycles and rhythms of life set in and take course - designating all that wasn't preserved properly to memory, instead of preserving our past accomplishments as everyday realities.
Every step we take in our life - big or small - is a footprint in the sand. However, if we do not take strong, deep, and meaningful strides which really create an impression on the sand - that is, our life's big picture - then the next set of waves will come and wash those footprints away.
Our challenge as spirited and capable people, dedicated to ourselves and the world around us - is to make lasting footprints on the ever-changing beach of life. Because when we near the end of our stroll along this shore, and we take a moment to recall what we did, we should be able to turn around and draw a clear line of footprints all the way back to where we started - back to our roots, our childhood, and back to the very first steps we took in defining ourselves in this vast beach we call the world.
And perhaps, if we can create our own set of lasting footprints, G-d, too, can accompany us with His set as well.
I wish you all good tidings and good stridings.
- PH
In some ways it is very comforting to know our footprints will not last, to know that the earth, both physically and spiritually, will recycle much of what I have done so imperfectly to allow the next generation their shot at making their impression.
ReplyDeleteStill l do believe and hope that some limited aspects of my being are allowed to access the everlasting, the unlimited, the Ain Sof.