Shine

"Life is not about how we'll be remembered, but how people will remember us."

I don't know who said that quote but I remember reading it one day and just taken aback at how very true that is. How we'll be remembered means very little to certain people we have known in this world, people who knew us personally, professionally and even just barely. These seem to be the opinions which matter the most.

At least, to me, they are.

I mean, what good is it if we die rescuing a child from certain death when we leave behind people who remember us as a cold, dishonest, irritable person?

What good is it if the whole world sees someone in a good light when there are people who knew this person personally and knew how he/she abused their kids, stole from the church, cheated others and did horrible things to family members? That's not a legacy, that's hypocrisy.

Think about it for a minute. Our lives that we live are not so much what we do for ourselves but what we do for other people.

And while people choose to live a dishonest, spiteful and negative life, I am not going to make that choice for myself. Me, I'd rather do GOOD things for people, not bad things. I'd rather help people instead of turning them away. I'd rather talk to people and take time for them instead of being "too busy" or "too insecure" or "too paranoid."

Because, you know what? I would rather take that chance in putting myself and something of myself OUT THERE for others, because I know giving good can only inspire good in others.

In other words, instead of closing myself off from the world -- being angry, spiteful, dishonest, rude, paranoid, bitter, resentful, unforgiving and cruel -- I am going to open myself up and shine. I am going to shine for others, and I can only hope more people will choose to shine, too. Instead of being filled with hate, discrimination and anger, let's try being nice and kind and understanding. Just for once.

I know people are going to say negative things about this outlook. But I will not pay that any mind. I will not allow myself to think as they do or feel as they do, because that is them and this is me. Our lives are all about choices. We can choose to be happy or we can choose to be sad. We can choose to have faith or resign ourselves to giving up. We can choose to hold grudges and be paranoid about people, developing the wrong ideas of others and closing ourselves off from the world, or we can choose to grow. We can choose to find it in ourselves to forgive. We can choose to be a better person, a better friend, and move past all of the weight holding us back.

Sometimes we like to think we are in control of our destinies. We have the power to be a bad person, because that's the only way to come out ahead in the end. WRONG. The bad guys never win. The good guys are those who are the happiest, most peaceful and all the more willing to enhance their lives spiritually, mentally and physically.

So the way I see it, we can either close ourselves off from the world and stay in the dark, or...we can open our hearts, open our minds and open our arms to let our light shine.

And as for me, I'm going to shine on.