Do you ever wonder how people will remember you after you’ve gone? Most of us do at one time or another.
~
I want to tell you about a young person, about whom I know virtually nothing. I never met her, and I can’t even remember her name. But of the tragedy of her passion, and of the love in which she is held by those who cherish her memory, I know a great deal.For you see, every day on my way to work, I drive past one of those roadside shrines. You know the sort of thing.. a few bunches of flowers at the side of the road, at the site of a traffic accident of some sort. Usually, the flowers die away and all that is left is a collection of cellophane wrappers containing their sad assortment of dried stalk, which the council quietly clear away after a few weeks.
I want to tell you about a young person, about whom I know virtually nothing. I never met her, and I can’t even remember her name. But of the tragedy of her passion, and of the love in which she is held by those who cherish her memory, I know a great deal.For you see, every day on my way to work, I drive past one of those roadside shrines. You know the sort of thing.. a few bunches of flowers at the side of the road, at the site of a traffic accident of some sort. Usually, the flowers die away and all that is left is a collection of cellophane wrappers containing their sad assortment of dried stalk, which the council quietly clear away after a few weeks.
~
But this one is different. For well over a year, the flowers have been replenished regularly. And it isn’t just flowers. There are cards, candles, hand-written notices. Rarely a day passes without there being some new addition and when it was her birthday recently, there as a large and beautifully crafted banner to proclaim the love and to remind the world of this very special person.
But this one is different. For well over a year, the flowers have been replenished regularly. And it isn’t just flowers. There are cards, candles, hand-written notices. Rarely a day passes without there being some new addition and when it was her birthday recently, there as a large and beautifully crafted banner to proclaim the love and to remind the world of this very special person.
~
Now, you may well wonder whether perhaps her friends and family should perhaps have come to terms with their grief; whether the rawness of a young life lost might by now have turned into a treasured memory kept alive in other ways. You might even wonder whether it is healthy to maintain the memory of this much loved person in this way for such a long time. You may well be right and I wouldn’t argue; that is for the psychologists to say.
Now, you may well wonder whether perhaps her friends and family should perhaps have come to terms with their grief; whether the rawness of a young life lost might by now have turned into a treasured memory kept alive in other ways. You might even wonder whether it is healthy to maintain the memory of this much loved person in this way for such a long time. You may well be right and I wouldn’t argue; that is for the psychologists to say.
~
But that’s not the point. This young life clearly inspired friendship and love of the highest order. There is in this continuing act of remembrance the same determined loyalty as of a dog that will not be budged from her master’s grave; and unwavering insistence that the memory will never, never be extinguished. What friends to have! How wonderful to be remembered in this way!
But that’s not the point. This young life clearly inspired friendship and love of the highest order. There is in this continuing act of remembrance the same determined loyalty as of a dog that will not be budged from her master’s grave; and unwavering insistence that the memory will never, never be extinguished. What friends to have! How wonderful to be remembered in this way!
~
And then I realised that it is by being a special friend that we gather friends around us; by giving more than we receive, by listening and by sharing and by giving of ourselves that we form a circle of friends around us.So it was not mere sentimentality that produced this outpouring, but the recognition that a special person, a shining example, has been snuffed out.May I be remembered above all as a friend to others...
And then I realised that it is by being a special friend that we gather friends around us; by giving more than we receive, by listening and by sharing and by giving of ourselves that we form a circle of friends around us.So it was not mere sentimentality that produced this outpouring, but the recognition that a special person, a shining example, has been snuffed out.May I be remembered above all as a friend to others...
~
~http://www.oxford.anglican.org/thedoor/competitions/thought_competition_2.html
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