Remembered for

It has been quite a while since I last blogged on this site. Wizard of Oz has overwhelmed my writing capacities. I just finished reading a book on non-profit management by Peter Drucker. In it he talks about one of his teachers in a Catholic school. A priest who asked the class of young men "What do you want to be remembered for?"

Of course most of them had no clue. Even later in life those who were in the class often had answers to that question that wasn't what they eventually settled on. I have thought about that question for myself. What I thought I wanted to be remembered for when I was in my teens and 20's was all about personal goals relating to theatre. I wanted to be a world famous designer or creative artist. I dreamed my career would be in New York or Hollywood.

As I've gotten older I hung onto that thought but other things developed. As I moved into my 50's that New York and Hollywood dream don't seem as important to me anymore. I'm still trying to figure out the answer to that question but it seems that the question actually isn't so much of a single thing as it is about a how.

These past weeks I've had a couple of times where I needed to talk to people about making good choices. Moments in life when your libido or your desires are pulling you in directions that fill your need to feel good but in the long run are choices that you may regret years later. It is as these moments that the question "What do you want to be remembered for?" comes into play. As I watch politicians and every day people having to confess to indiscretions that come to light I'm reminded of the old saying that you shouldn't do anything that you wouldn't want to read about on the cover of the local newspaper. I think that goes along with the What do you want to be remembered for. I've written several times about struggling with integrity. Life is always waiting for you to say or do something "stupid" and then for everyone to find out about it. An unkind word said about someone else will always get back to them. A moment of inappropriate behavior will always be witnessed or found out about. It seems to go to personal ego too. When I get too full of myself I'm always pulled back. When I get lots of compliments on my work or on what I've done with some project- I am always reminded that I didn't do something alone. There are always dozens of people who contributed to that success. Success like the current show is fleeting. In theatre there is a saying that you are only as good as your last show. Each time you start a new project you risk all of the success that you've had in the past.

Nothing in this life is accomplished without the help of others. I have been moving into the next phase of my life which is to be a mentor to others. To let go of my personal needs for success. The biggest legacy I can leave in this life is to remember that I'm part of a long chain of people who supported me when I needed it and to support others as they need it. Life is truly a gift. A gift to be present in the lives of other people and when I am remembered it was that I did the best I could, I cared about people, I was a good husband and father, and I made a positive difference in the lives of the people that I touched. There have been many people I've heard that said about, but I didn't realize how tough it was to live a life like that and how much of a compliment that is to be remembered that way. I'm going to fail and fall down, but I just have to keep asking myself - What do I want to be remembered for?